Snowstorm
by orisitjustfantasy
Summary: April comforts Jackson after he learns he's in charge of SGMW Hospital.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a one-shot about what I can only wish happens for Japril when GA comes back from its hiatus. I just whipped it up quickly so it is most likely full of errors, sorry in advance. Errors aside, I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think :)**

**PS: I own nothing but a random Tumblr blog and a crappy Nissan Sentra. **

* * *

Catherine Avery gave her baby boy one last kiss on the cheek before she took off with Dr. Webber, Dr. Shepherd and the rest of their team. Jackson tore out the main entrance of Seattle Grace Mercy Hospital like he was escaping the gates of hell and his body took him to the place he went when he felt lost. April's.

His mind was racing and he was uttering profanities that even he himself, king of cursing had never used before. He never asked for this. In fact, this is exactly what he didn't ask for. A move from sea to sea across all of the United States couldn't even liberate him of the Avery name. His mother had been in town for all of two days and had ruined everything he had worked his whole life for. His own reputation and accountability as a surgeon was gone in a microsecond.

"April!" He pounded on the door. It was her day off and barely seven am. Even though they rarely talked anymore he knew she would be up. She was always up at the crack of dawn. Today was different though, he hollered "April!" one more time and continued beating on the door. He heard shuffling across the floor and when she opened the door she learned against it in frustration.

"Jackson…" She mumbled and waited for him to speak. Waking up from a dead sleep had somehow left her unable to process anything. He didn't seem to be doing any better she noticed. He was pacing in the hall and his fists were clenched.

"Does this have to do with Stephanie? Listen Jackson, I'm glad we're friends still but I don't think I can help you with your girl problems anymore." She muttered, getting annoyed at his bizarre behavior.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Who? What? No… This has to do with my mother. Like it always does. What else could I possibly have to deal with other than her insanely outrageous and wanton meddling?" He was ranting. There had only been two times she had seen his ranting in all of their years of friendship. When he found out Dr. Webber was sleeping with his mom and when he found out his mom was going to be evaluating at his boards in San Francisco. Both times it hadn't ended well so she let him in.

When he saw her hold the door open he walked in and opened her refrigerator. He poured a glass of orange juice, took a gulp and set it on the counter. He walked around the island in her kitchen before walking back to the orange juice, picking it up and setting it back down but not actually taking another drink. This happened two more times before April decided to wait out the storm and took a seat at the island he was wearing a hole around.

She didn't say anything, she just watched. And watched. And watched. At this point she knew whatever was going would be good.

"My mom bought me the hospital." He blurted out as he stopped at the counter facing her, leaned his weight onto the counter and stared at her. He tried to gage her reaction and it went from confused to amused and back to confused again.

"Jackson, your mom can't buy you a hospital. I don't care if she is an Avery. Normal people don't just buy hospitals." April said nonchalantly.

"My mother isn't normal." He responded angrily and slammed his fist through the wall directly next to her front door. Her jaw dropped and he pulled his fist out and held it straight out in front of him while he exhaled as slow as he could.

As if she'd seen him do it before she got up and grabbed a bag of peas from her freezer and wrapped it around his hand. She guided him to her couch and sat on the coffee table facing him.

"Tell me everything." She said, casually placing her hands on his knees, comforting him the best she knew how in their awkward situation. She rubbed soothing circles up and down this thighs.

"Shepherd, Grey, Yang, Robbins, Torres… they quit because they wanted to buy the hospital. Because it was their fault that all of this was happening. Their law suit brought Pegasus in as a buyer and they wanted to fix it…" He began but she knew that part.

"Jackson, I know that already." She told him, anxious to hear where he was going.

"They didn't have enough money. They needed another investor… that's where the Harper Avery Foundation comes in. More money in that foundation than what they know what to do with. My mom…Dr. Webber got my mom involved. I can't say that I'm surprised. Because then April, then she offered to invest April." He stared at her like he was done talking. She took a minute to take in the information and how all of that could mean Jackson owned the hospital. He had never taken an active involvement in the Harper Avery Foundation, what said he had to start now?

"Okay…" She started to question him and he interrupted her. "On the condition that I'm on the board representing the foundation."

April stared at him incredibly. Eyes bulging out of their socket, jaw on the floor, not able to make a sound incredibly. It took a lot to leave Kepner speechless, but this did it.

"With as much money as they're donating I'm sure I have at least 51% of the control. It's got to be more than that but clearly I didn't stick around for the specifics." He rambled and adjusted the bag on his hand.

"What did the others think about this?" April finally asked him. She had about a million questions but that one seemed to come out first. She waited for him to recall their reactions and everything that had just happened.

"They didn't look happy but can you blame them?" He groaned. If he were in their position he would feel the same way. "What do I do? How do I even begin to get out of this one April?" He put his head in his hands.

Eventually she spoke. "You know what Jackson, you just have to deal with it. I was talking to Shane last night and I realized something. I guess I have to believe that everything happens for a reason. It's all part of some plan; you're supposed to learn something right?. You lose a patient because you forget to check their airway, you don't make that mistake again. You fail your boards 'cause you're too busy sleeping with your best friend, maybe you stop doing that. The hospital you call home almost shuts down just when you're starting to feel like you've got your life together….or maybe, just maybe you…inherit a hospital. So you do everything in your power to make the hospital as successful as possible until God has other plans for it, or for you." She recalled mostly from her ramblings the night before.

It was a lot to take in but he was trying. There used to be a time when he took everything she said to heart and he wanted to get back to that place. "I'm just….scared. What if I mess this up? What if everyone starts to hate me?" Jackson questioned. April took in the vulnerability written all over his face before she went on.

"You can do anything Jackson. You and I… we're soldiers remember? We've already gone through one hospital, lost our two best friends, survived a shooting…so what if they don't like you anymore? They'll get over it. Jackson, do you have any idea how many lives you'll be saving? You have the opportunity to keep a world class hospital open, and a teaching hospital at that. You have a clean slate where you can make it everything you've ever wanted it to be…." Her face erupted into a smile and she could tell he was processing it all, taking it all in.

"This is a gift Jackson. This is your mother admitting that you are successful and that she thinks you're so successful she's willing to put the Avery name on the line for you so that you can show the world what you can do. This is her acknowledging that you'll never go back to Boston and become another stereotype Avery at Mass Gen."

She stopped again, this time she found his hands. Though freezing cold from the peas, they still felt warm to her. They probably always would. Not to mention that his hands pretty much engulfed hers. She forgot how large they were because she hadn't held them in months. It stole her attention until he broke his silence.

"You really think I can do it?" He opened his eyes and looked directly at the red head. She starred right back at him. Her teeth found her bottom lip and her face broke out into another smile.

"I know you can." She promised him and suddenly his heart swelled up again…just like it usually did for her.

He chose his next words carefully. "You know… it's crazy Ape. I don't even know when you became so important to me. I think about it, and it's just like watching a snowstorm. You see the snowflakes falling, but you don't realize how they're adding up. Until suddenly the whole lawn is covered in a sheet of white and you realize you're in the middle of the best and most exciting snowstorm of your life." He uttered to her, his heart was speaking words he didn't even know he had.

When he finally looked at her to gage her reaction he saw the trademark April blush cover her face and her eyes well up with tears. She started blinking profusely to hold them back but a strong one escaped from the corner. He used his healthy hand to wipe the tear away from her cheek and she stopped him.

"Jackson. What about Stephanie? We can't do this to her." She groaned honestly. It was just like April to put others before herself. How did he find a woman so caring and compassionate?

"Stephanie was just one of the ways I tried to get over you. Obviously there was nothing there, and there never will be. There isn't going to be another second that will go by where I'll be able to forget about how much I love you. I tried to forget you; I tried to forget that we ever happened April because I thought that was what you wanted. But then someone says your name or something smells like you or someone has your smile and I lose all the progress I made. I'm just stuck in this…labyrinth…of you that I can't escape." By this time her tears were falling faster than the Seattle rain.

"Why do you even like me? I'm a mess. I'm high maintenance, I'm bossy. I don't know where I'm going in life or what exactly I believe in anymore. I'm not overly pretty Jackson, or even overly smart. I'm average. That's it. I push people away and that's my thing. Because really, when I really think about it, who would ever want me?" She bared her soul to him, sharing every fear and secret she had ever kept about herself.

He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. He face fell into the side of her neck and he inhaled her scent as much as he could. She calmed took a deep breath and nearly almost composed herself, waiting for him to speak.

"You're so much more than that April and if you'll let me I'll spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to you. I just need you. All of your flaws, mistakes, smiles, giggles, jokes, laughs, even your sarcasm. I just need you". He whispered in her ear, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Her head rose up and she took in his expression, gaging his sincerity and for the first time and it clicked. He was her person and the reason she could finally catch a breath of air.

"April, let me love you." He pleaded. Jackson leaned in closer to her and rested his forehead against hers.

She nodded in agreement before wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest. Suddenly in another but more intense onset of emotion she had no control over she lost it all. Every trace of sadness and worry she had had over the past few months without him went away, all at once. She cried in relief until she sobbed right there on his chest. She gasped, trying to catch any bit of air she possibly could and then she cried some more. Each ounce of hurt and pain she had ever held in was free.


	2. Chapter 2

**So this is no longer a one-shot. I thought maybe it could help us get through the next couple of weeks. There is still some angst between Jackson/April because we all know how April is and how apprehensive she can be. Expect some lighter situations in upcoming chapters though. I want to focus more on the fun side of their relationship as well as Jackson dealing with his new hospital. Please let me know what you think or if there's something you'd like to see in this story!**

* * *

April told Jackson she owed it to Matt to tell him things were over. She knew in her heart that there wasn't anything real there to begin with, but it was obvious Matt felt differently. She thought she liked him but when she heard herself tell him she was a virgin she knew it wouldn't work. He was someone she couldn't be herself around but mostly he just wasn't Jackson. He took it pretty well and even admitted that he saw it coming. That hurt April a little bit, knowing that she had led him on so much when she wasn't interested. The only thing that gave her piece of mind about the situation was that she let him go before he got even more invested.

She drove back from Matt's and found Jackson sitting outside her apartment door. "How did it go? Did you tell him?" He looked up at her and she nodded her head before she slid down next to him and instinctively held her knees to her chest. She leaned her head on his shoulder and another tear ran down her face. He moved closer to her and held her in his arms. It was so familiar to him that it felt like they were never apart.

"I—I just have never broken up with anyone before and it was hard. It was really hard. What was I supposed to say to him that wouldn't hurt? I don't like making people feel that way" April confessed as Jackson nodded his head in understanding, trying to comfort her in any way that he could.

"You're an amazing woman April" he assured her and soothed her some more by rubbing her back and sinking his lips onto her temple. To have a woman in his life that is so concerned for the feelings of other people made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

Jackson asked the question he dreading even thinking about. "Are you sure this is what you want?" and he held his breath until she began to talk.

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life, I promise you. I know that I want you; every fiber in my soul is telling me that you're the man for me. My hand is cold when it's not attached to yours and my heart hurts when you're not holding me. But you know me, I-I'm just afraid. Afraid that if you see me all the time, you'll get sick of me. That if you talk to me all the time, you'll run out of things to say. I'm afraid that if we do the same things all the time, you'll get bored of us. I'm afraid that if I'm too nice to you, you'll take advantage of me or if I'm too comfortable with you, you'll drift away. Jackson, I'm afraid that if someone else gets your attention, you'll forget about me; that if you meet somebody new, you'll leave me. Worst of all, I'm terrified that if I tell you that I love you, you won't be able to love me back."

She ended her rant with a weak smile and asked how Stephanie took the news. "Same." Jackson brushed off Stephanie and went back to what April admitted to him. He wasn't going to let her make light of her feelings as if they didn't matter.

"April, at some point you're going to have to let yourself be happy. You owe it to yourself." He told her earnestly. She displayed what appeared to him to be an honest smile and understanding like she finally believed him. Her eyes had cleared up and she looked relieved again. Jackson let his hand roam up to her chin and he pulled it upwards to kiss her. Her gasp turned into a slight moan before Jackson pulled her up with him and her legs found his waist. His hands engulfed her petite waist and slid underneath her white t-shirt.

"I missed you so much." Jackson groaned against her lips and he felt her expression turn into a full on smile.

"I need you." She moaned while his hands slid down to cup her ass. He backed her up to the door of her apartment and she twisted anxiously at the handle.

They finally broke into her apartment. "Bed. Now." She demanded and that's exactly what he did.

This wasn't about fucking her though like it had been so many times before. This time was different because he wanted to show her how much he loved her. They wasted months by not communicating with each other and over his dead body was he going to let it happen again. His touch lingered over every inch of her. It started on her lips and went to that spot on her neck that he used to love to be in.

When her warm hands slid down his back he inadvertently shivered. He laid her down on her bed and carried his weight on top of her, still planting soft kisses on her neck. He moved his hands down to the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it up as far as he could before she moved her arms above her head and he pulled it off.

She was the only one that could make a plain white bra sexy. He had to catch his breath just from seeing her like that, with her chest moving up and down waiting for his next touch. From her neck his kisses travelled to her full breasts where he gently pulled down the tight white straps one by one, taking in everything about her he could. April leaned forward just enough for him to unclasp the back and pull it off her.

He looked up at her and was drawn in by her big brown eyes staring intently back at him. The way she stared at him told him everything he needed to know. She was all in too.

When he journeyed back down her chest her hands dug into his shoulders and down the side of his chiseled body. She hooked her fingers into his grey pants and pulled them down as far as she could until he pulled them off the rest of the way. Her body was trembling and she was guiding his head back up to meet hers so she could kiss him again.

When positioned himself at her entrance he pushed into her and felt her adjust to taking him all in again. Her legs tangled into his and she felt her toes curl.

"I love you." He groaned into her ear and didn't expect anything back. Saying I love you for the first time during sex wasn't the most romantic thing in the world but he couldn't wait anymore. He'd been holding it in for months.

"I love you too Jackson." She readily responded and rolled on top of him. Her abrupt tears fell onto him and he reached up to dry them as best as he could.

It wasn't long after they finished making love that April's pager went off.

"Ignore it, just ignore it." He begged her when she reached over him to grab it off the night stand. They were finally in a place of bliss that he didn't want to ever leave.

"I can't ignore the hospital…" She giggled and he tickled the back of her knee just enough to make her jump. Surprisingly but not really his pager went off right after that and he just rolled his eyes. "At least we can ride together." He jumped out of bed pulling on the same grey sweat suit he had on earlier in the day and watched her scrambling around the room for the panties but she looked too cute for him to mess it all up by saying they were right in front of her.

After she got the pit caught up again she wandered into the attendings lounge, frustrated and grumpy. Shane was the only intern she liked this year, the others were all clueless. Leah paged her to do work that she should no doubted be doing on her own now…all she did was intubate two patients, inserted central lines in a couple more, performed three bronchoscopies. Intern work.

It became six am out of nowhere and she was tired but now her shift was just beginning. She grabbed a banana from the basic of fruit on the counter most likely from a rep and flopped down onto the couch. No more than when her head hit the pillow did Jackson meander into the lounge feeling the same way she did. Tired and irritated.

"Hey you." Jackson smiled as soon as he saw her buried down in the cushions. "Hi." She beamed in return and he forgot all about the food he wanted, opting to climb onto the couch and fold himself into her instead.

His head landed in her cleavage and his eyes shut near immediately. She finished watching the Magic Bullet infomercial that was on and let herself drift off to sleep with him for a short while, forgetting where they were.

An hour later Jackson opened his eyes and saw Karev, Yang, Grey and Bailey sitting across from him, staring at the sight. Christina raised her eyebrow and Meredith shook her head in laughter.

"I knew you two were freakishly close but what the hell?" Karev muttered, eating a granola bar with crumbs falling everywhere.

"Karev, be quiet. Avery, what the hell?" Bailey questioned and he was a bit confused as to why she wasn't telling them to get out of the attending's lounge and find an on-call room like everyone else.

"Oh. Right, yeah… we're uh… together now." Avery decided it was best to just put it out there, given that it was pretty damn obvious from the sight of them anyway. By this time April was stirring. "Finally." April whispered as she woke up.

"Well, okay. It's about time. But get the hell out of here and let me eat my breakfast in peace. I don't need to see that. This is a _hospital_." Bailey ranted, waving her finger at the two on the couch.

"Oh uh, yeah sorry Dr. Bailey." April jumped up and Jackson noticed how flushed her skin was, there was the April he knew and loved. He jumped up and followed her into the hallway, ignoring the other comments from their fellow attending's.

She pulled him into the first vacant on-call room and jumped him. Just a couple minutes earlier she woke up feeling 'him' pressed firmly into her thigh and it did something for her she couldn't comprehend. If the others weren't there she would have tried to have her way with him right then. At least before she got embarrassed at the publicity of the whole thing and chickened out.

He landed on the small bed and April fell onto him. He pulled her thighs on either side of him and she leaned down, straddling him and peppering his mouth with sloppy kisses. They were both feeling hornier than ever and their urgency was apparent. April's hands slid up his hard chest and he moaned at the contact. All the stress from the hospital and his mother melted away when he was with her.

"Jackson, I need you inside me." She begged while he hands tugged at the strings of his scrub pants.

While she tried to maneuver his scrubs down, his hand slide further into pants and the part of her that was aching for him. He couldn't believe how wet she already was.

"You are so fucking sexy." He growled at her but was interrupted as the door flew open. He instinctively pulled her close to him. She hid her face in his shoulder, letting her hair fall to hide the rest of her blushing face.

"Oh you two are back together? I knew it. I was just telling Richard that I knew she loved you…" the other Dr. Avery chatted mostly with herself.

"Mom! Get out! What the hell?!" Jackson shouted, utterly astounded at the absurdity of the situation.

"Sorry baby. When you two finish up here find me so we can talk about how to move forward with your new _hospital_!" She chimed back at him. "Good to see you again April!" Catherine finished and April waved her off dismissively, still hiding behind Jackson.

Dr. Avery shut the door behind her and Jackson's spout popped off.

"Unbelievable! That woman has NO boundaries. Just when I think she couldn't possibly be any more overbearing than she already is, she goes looking for us in on-call rooms! I am going to kill her." He shrieked. April was still hiding but she had begun to move her hand soothingly back and forth on his chest, trying to comfort him.

"I mean, if I hadn't stopped her she would still be in here as if nothing happened!" He ranted and raved, their moment was definitely over. It wasn't long after that he realized how embarrassed she must be. "April, are you okay?"

She tried to hold it in but a giggle escaped her mouth and her body began to shake in uncontrollable laughter. Jackson grinned as he realized the silliness of it all.

* * *

**I can't be the only one who loves some awkward Catherine Avery? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Consider yourselves updated! I want to take a second to thank all of you kick ass Surgeons (that's what we're calling GA fandom, yeah?) for your amazing feedback. You inspire me. Also thank you for following/favoriting the story... can't thank you enough. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much! Let me know what you think or where you'd like it to go next!**

* * *

"Have either of you seen Jackson?" April asked Cristina and Meredith who she found sitting at their normal table in the cafeteria. She'd looked all over for him and no such luck so far.

"No…We don't babysit April, we're surgeons." Cristina rolled her eyes and in turn April did the same thing. They'd been getting along a lot better since they both came back to Seattle but it didn't take much for Cristina to get under her skin and she knew it.

"I saw him in his new upstairs office earlier, you should check there." Meredith politely offered her and smiled. She enjoyed Kepner more and more.

"Oh jeez, I already forgot about his new office. I'm so used to finding him in plastics…"April sputtered off, mostly to herself and took off again to find him.

She took the elevator to the administrative floor. The floor obviously was full of offices of board members, the chief of surgery, human resources, the in-house lawyers and probably a lot more she didn't even know existed. She walked down the long hall that was clad with white walls and white floors. The feel was a lot different than the rest of the hospital, a lot colder feeling. Not that hospitals were ever warm in the first place, but this was just overkill.

She found his office on the left near the end of the hallway. His door was open and he was pouring over paperwork with one hand rubbing his temple irritatingly. He seemed perplexed.

She knocked on the door slightly and he almost jumped out of his chair.

"Oh hey." Jackson grinned at her. "What are you doing here? …Not that I'm complaining…" He watched his girlfriend shut the door behind her and make her way over to his desk.

"I'm worried about you. I saw that you rescheduled your craniofacial and I know you love getting to do those since they don't come through here very often…what gives?" April questioned him. At the same time she walked behind his chair and started rubbing his shoulders. She'd never felt him so tense.

He didn't respond right away, he was busy appreciating her touch. His head rolled back and she leaned forward and gave him kisses.

"I could get used to this. The shoulder rubs I mean, not the work. The work is awful…and boring. There's just so much of it. I had to give my craniofacial to Schwartz. I hate that guy." Jackson rambled, a little about the paper work and a little more about his dislike for one of the new plastics guys.

April nodded and her hands slid inside the top of this scrub shirt. "I know baby. It's a lot, isn't it." She agreed, more of a statement than a question. "Can I help you with any of it?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Jackson teased, suddenly sporting a bit of a naughty look.

He turned only slightly and grabbed her by her waist, pulling her quickly onto his lap. It caused her to let out a light gasp in surprise and she couldn't stop giggling when he pulled her legs over his to straddle him.

"You are the cutest, loveliest, tenderest, and most gorgeous woman I have ever known—and even that is an understatement." He admitted to her in between kisses and she gushed at his words. He was constantly building up her self-esteem, even if he wasn't meaning to.

His hands were freezing cold and when they ran up the back of her shirt she inadvertently shivered and tried to free herself. He pulled her closer and instead of trying to escape again she pulled him into her and gave him the kiss she'd been thinking about all day. All of her wiggling on his lap didn't help his situation because he was pressing right into her and it was only making them hotter.

She felt his hands slide from her back to up under her bra. He groaned when the palms of his hands ran over her hard nipples and she shivered at his touch. After getting that reaction out of her he ran his thumbs over them and watched her eyes roll back in delight.

Since they officially got together…or back together…she couldn't decide, they were screwing like bunnies. April finally seemed content with the way she wanted to express her love to Jackson and she couldn't stop. He wasn't making it easier for her either. She was sitting on his lap and felt his erection pressing into her even more and a moan escaped her. He was kissing her like he'd wanted to do all day; he couldn't get enough of her tiny lips and the strawberry taste radiating from them.

Jackson swiftly pulled her top over her head but was stopped before he could unclasp her bra. "Jackson…we can't. Not here." April pouted, she wanted to just as much as he did but knew how likely they were to get caught.

He grumbled in impatience. "April, why not? This is my office, the door is shut…" He stood up and her legs instinctively locked around his waist, she looked confused. They ended up in front of the door to his office where he reached out and twisted the lock.

"And it's locked. So can I…please…make love to my beautiful, intelligent, sexy girlfriend?" He begged while she took a minute to seriously ponder the idea. He already had her back against the door and his face in her cleavage while he waited.

Another small moan escaped her and he took that as the permission he needed. His hands immediately went for that clasp on her bra he was so close to before and hers for the band of his scrub bottoms. After he tore her pink bra off, he set her down so he could step out of his pants and pull hers off too for that matter.

When he picked her up again and hiked her over his waist she hit the door with a loud thud.

"Shhh! You're going to get us caught." April laughed and whispered at the same time, her face was rosy red as usual. Jackson smiled in amusement.

"If anyone's going to get us caught then it's going to be you…you're, uh…vocal." He chuckled and found the spot on her that he knew would make her sing.

It must have worked because the next moan she let out was loud and hot. He couldn't take it anymore, he needed to be inside her. He situated himself just right and slammed into her. And then again, and a couple more times after that until he had to make a conscious effort to not finish before her. Her nails were digging into his back and the sounds coming out of her weren't helping him. He was just about to burst when he felt her tighten around him and shake in ecstasy so he could do the same.

She locked her arms around his shoulders even tighter to pull him into her. He held her there for the next couple of minutes while they kissed some more. He buried his face in her hair and sighed. It was quickly becoming his new favorite place to be. It smelled like heaven and felt like clouds. When he finally set her back on her feet she bent down to pick up her bra and panties. She noticed him staring and she raised one of her eye brows in typical April fashion.

"Sorry." Jackson raised his hands in defeat and laughed at the idea of being caught gawking. She didn't say anything but instead just gazed at him in amusement. His grin turned into a shit eating one and she had to laugh at that. "I just had sex with the hottest attending in the hospital, that's all." He laughed and she swatted him away.

He mentioned something about her cute matching pink bra and panties which lead to her giving him another eye roll and they both got dressed. "Are you sure you don't want any help? Er—any actual help I mean?" April questioned him when he sat back down at his desk. She took the seat facing his and watched him thumb through the stacks of paperwork.

"Nah, I should be okay. I have a board meeting at 7 and I should be out shortly after that. Can I come over afterwards?" He asked with more tired eyes, hoping she would say yes.

"I was hoping you would. Don't eat, I'll make dinner." She promised and his face lit up. He looked forward to her food almost as much as he looked forward to seeing her. Almost. He still asked every night if he could come over but he practically lived there and they both seemed to like it that way. She missed him when he wasn't there and he couldn't sleep if she wasn't lightly snoring next to him. Home was quickly becoming anywhere April was.

When she walked back around his desk to give him a kiss goodbye he smacked her ass just hard enough to elicit a reaction out of her and then watched her leave for home. It had only been a couple weeks since the hospital switched ownership and he was beat. He couldn't help but thank his lucky stars he had April to help him get through it.

After another hour of paperwork he decided to use the last ten minutes before his board meeting to run over previous minutes. He had highlighted all the important parts and written diligent notes with his opinions and ideas in the margins.

There was another short knock on his door. "Jackson, Sweetheart…go home. You look exhausted." Catherine suggested, somewhat worried about her baby.

"I can't. I have a meeting in ten minutes. Thanks to you." He waved his hand as if he was dismissing her from his office but she took it to mean come in and have a seat. She ignored his comment because she knew he didn't mean it.

"How are things with you and April?" She probed, staring intensely at her only son.

"Good. Great, actually. And private." Jackson told her and regained focus on his notes.

"Watching her sneak out of your office smoothing out her sex hair earlier was a sight." Catherine teased drolly, the exact opposite way of which Jackson took it. She continued, "Is there anywhere in this hospital you two don't do it?"

He ignored her and tried again to at least present a mirage of concentration on his work.

"Not that I'm complaining. I've been telling her she needed to embrace her sexual urges for years and I've never seen you happier…" She chattered on, hoping to draw him into some type of conversation. "There are some people in this world who can just love and love and love no matter what. You picked a good one."

She didn't get a verbal response from him but she saw the corners of his mouth turn up at her last comment. That was enough for her and she figured she was best to leave on a good note.

"Can you give your momma a kiss goodnight?" She pleaded and to her surprise he walked around his desk and did as she asked. He was even pleasant about it.

When he left his office for his meeting he was greeted in the hall by Dr. Webber or Richard, he wasn't really sure. "Dr. Avery? Jackson?" Dr. Webber stumbled over his words awkwardly.

Jackson took a couple seconds to think about it. Dr. Webber had been dating his mother for months now. He wasn't thrilled about it but was beginning to accept the idea. He could see how happy his mom seemed and even Dr. Webber for that matter. He'd even asked him to call him Richard…outside of the hospital at least. Although Jackson didn't reach out and extended him the same courtesy Jackson knew he was trying.

With everything going so well in his life at the moment he figured he could afford to throw him a bone. "Jackson." He mumbled and Dr. Webber nodded.

"Jackson, I would like to ask your mother to marry me."

* * *

**Is it the 14****th**** yet? Did you all see the new promo?!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally a new Grey's this week! I'll be updating this again really soon :)**

* * *

_"Jackson, I would like to ask your mother to marry me."_

His fists clenched together and his jaw tightened. This guy had a lot of nerve. Jackson's mind started racing. First the man started banging his mom the night of his boards, one of the most important days of his life so far. Then they made no effort to keep the relationship under wraps, even when Adele was still alive.

"No." Jackson answered him, as if the conversation were closed. He continued on down the hallway towards his meeting and became increasingly irritated when Dr. Webber did the same.

"No? You know I uh, I was just being courteous Jackson…it wasn't really a question—" He contended somewhat apologetic.

"It's Dr. Avery. And I don't have time for this right now. Thanks to you and thanks to my mother I have to run this place now. So no. No, you can't marry my mother. Is there anything else Dr. Webber or are we done here?" Jackson asked him curtly, not even looking up from his preparation notes for his meeting.

"We're done, for now. But this isn't over. I care a lot about your mother, I always have. I care about you too…I know we're not close anymore and I guess you don't like me, but I'll be here if you need me. I'm a good helping hand _Jackson_, especially if you need help sorting out all of this administrative stuff." Dr. Webber informed him, patted him on his shoulder and took off in the other direction.

The meeting went by ridiculously slow. It was exactly what he'd spent his whole life running from. Board meetings. Foundations. Long tables filled with people who were more concerned with the fiscal wellness of the hospital than the health and the patients.

He did see some familiar faces like Grey, Shepherd, Yang, Robins and Torres. Hunt was still there as Chief of Surgery but other than that he still hadn't meant many of the other board members and he didn't care to. He noticed how they each made efforts to introduce themselves to him and why wouldn't they? No time like the present to suck up to an Avery that they know nothing about except that he might be able to help them get ahead somehow.

As soon as the meeting ended he rushed out. He just needed to see April. It had been such a long day that he didn't even change out of his scrubs which was something he almost never did.

* * *

Jackson knocked on the door to April's apartment as he opened it and found her finishing dinner in the kitchen. She had a glass of red wine poured that she appeared to be halfway finished with and the open bottle next to it on the counter. She had some quiet music playing in the background and the aroma from whatever she was making smelled like heaven.

"Hi." Was all she said as her face lit up at the sight of him. His did the same, despite his sour mood. He scooped her up into his arms and gave her a kiss that made her swoon. He was leaning down to meet her face and started peppering kisses all over her and down her neck while she giggled uncontrollably. His arms were packaged tightly around her torso and his hands slipped down the back of her shorts gripping her bottom.

"Jackson! What has gotten into you?" She laughed as her boyfriend continued to grope her. She loved this playful but also kind of needy side of him. He set her up on the counter and moved in between her legs. His hands were still under her thighs and he went to lightly rub the back of her knees.

"Missed you so much. You smell amazing …" Jackson said in a husky voice that was laced with lust. His face moved into her thick mass of hair that fell down her shoulders and he inhaled the sweet vanilla scent he loved.

"I-I missed you too…so much." She replied, tossing her arms around his shoulders and letting her desire take over. She found his lips again and she enjoyed the way his lips on hers made her feel safe. He found her hands again and linked his fingers through hers.

"I can't stand how lonely I am without your fingers between mine." He admitted and rested his forehead against hers. It had only been a couple weeks since they got back together and since he told her he loved her but so much had changed. He felt different. To him there was something amazing that happened when he realized he fell in love and stopped even giving a damn about what day it was anymore. She did that to him.

"Let's go somewhere, get away from it all. I need to clear my head. We can leave in the morning. Just for the day. We'll drive until the city lights turn into a country haze…me and you?" He asked her and watched her ponder the idea. It was obvious her mind was racing with the schedule she had in store for tomorrow and everything she had to do or what have to rearrange.

"I guess I could take just one day off… I scheduled more than enough people for the pit tomorrow…" April reasoned with herself. She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she carefully thought out every detail of her day tomorrow.

"Yeah, let's do it. We can drive to the ocean, build a campfire, watch the sunset…you can get your mind off of everything hospital. You're so stressed." She rambled as she her hands fell to the top of his scrub pants and she started untying them. Her gaze never left his. When they fell down to the floor he stepped out of them and unzipped her green hoodie and then pulled off her tank top. To his delight she wasn't even wearing a bra underneath. She pulled off his shirt in response and he pulled down her pajama pants and panties at the same time.

Jackson had her in his arms again and was about to carry her to her bedroom. "Wait! I have to turn off the stove." She told him between more kisses and he didn't set her down but instead carried her over to the stove. She reached over and clicked it off and pulled the hot pan off the burner. On their way out of the kitchen she grabbed the two wine glasses and the bottle she opened for them and he finally made it to her room. After she set the glasses down he dropped her onto the bed and fell on top of her.

* * *

Only twelve hours later and after an almost four hour drive they were at the beach. Washington beaches weren't like California beaches, the sand wasn't as soft and the weather wasn't as warm. There were rocks big and small that covered the shore line and the beach was disserted, but it was exactly what they both needed. Somewhere to go together and clear their heads. The serenity and seclusion gave them the break they needed.

"What's on your mind?" he asked her after he watched her in deep thought without ever finding the answer. "There's just….I don't think there's anything more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to leave the shore line, no matter how many times it is sent away. You know? There's something beautiful about that kind of love." April told him, not looking up at him and not looking away from the crashing white waves.

Sometimes the things she said just amazed him and this was one of those times. Every now and then she would just drop some kind of profound philosophical thought on him that left him silent. He reached for the hand she had closest to him and held it in his, rubbing it to shed any warmth upon it he could.

"Webber wants to marry my mom." Jackson told her, still holding her hand only this time he was the one staring at the endless water.

April turned to him, speechless…one of the very few times she was ever left searching for words. "He asked you first?" She finally questioned him.

"Yeah, but then he told me it was basically just a courtesy…so I mean, why bother?" He grumbled, his mood going back to the poor one from the night before.

"Well you told him yes, right?" She asked rather nonchalantly, using one hand to rub his back and sooth him.

"No April, why would I tell him yes? He has no place being with my mother. Absolutely not, no." Jackson snapped at her coldly. His face softened a few moments later when he realized he was taking it out on the wrong person.

After she saw he was a little calmer she tried to assure him, "Well he seems to make your mother really happy. At least that's the picture I get when I see them…" She started reasoning with him.

"I just don't like it. I don't really have a reason, I like Richard. Or Dr. Webber. Whatever. I just don't want him to hurt my mom. The last real relationship I remember her having was with my father and look how that turned out. He treated her like crap and I won't let that happen to her again." Jackson argued back.

"I know, I understand…I do. But there's some things we just have to learn to let go of Jackson, for no other reason than that they're heavy. You can trust him; you have to because your mom does. And if somehow he does hurt her then all you can do is be there to pick up the pieces and tell her everything is going to be ok." She hummed, trying to be helpful and comforting.

"You're probably right." Was all that he said and then he pulled her up into his lap. She tucked her head into the space between his neck and his shoulder and closed her eyes. She could hear his heart beating and naturally she started counting the beats, listening to its rhythm. It was oddly comforting to her and ended up lulling her to sleep in his arms.

* * *

The drive home was long but April spent most of it sleeping. When they got back to her apartment he walked around and opened her car door for her and walked her to the front door.

"I don't want to leave." He whined, he was still holding his arms around her waist tightly.

"I don't want you to leave." She admitted, kissing him again despite her exhaustion from their drive.

"Maybe just one more night?" He begged her when she started aimlessly digging through her purse for her house keys.

She stopped digging and looked up at him. "You could just move in. I mean, if…if you wanted to. You don't have to or anyth—" She asked and he stopped the flow of her endless chatter by throwing her over his shoulder and going right into their bedroom.

* * *

**The next chapter should be up very shortly. It's done, just editing. Thanks again for all of the kind reviews… they always make me want to update as soon as possible!~**


	5. Chapter 5

**That took longer than I planned to finish editing :( Nothing to say but sorry. Glad you're reading though… you readers are awesome! Seriously. I love you all. A lot. Oh and I changed it to 'M' but it probably won't get much "dirtier" than this. **

* * *

"Jackson! I'm serious. There isn't enough room in our closet for all of your sneakers." April giggled from the bed. She was laying on her stomach watching him neatly line up his sneakers in what appeared to be a color coded order, though she couldn't be sure with him. None of them looked like they had even been worn before.

"Well then some of your clothes need to go. These are my babies. You knew this before we even got together." He told her and it didn't sound like he was joking at all though she knew he had to be.

"I thought I was your baby?" She teased him. He nodded his head in agreement and laughed. After he finished organizing his shoes he made his way over to her on the bed. The closer he got, the further she inched her way back to the head of the bed. In a matter of seconds he had her corned and was on top of her. He grinned as his lips found her neck and she giggled some more at the contact.

"You'll always be my baby." He promised her, peppering her long neck with kisses and tangling his hands in her thick hair. "Besides, you have way too many clothes anyway."

"Me? I have half as much as you and that's not even counting your sneakers." She countered. They were arguing but making out at the same time. Their impulses never seemed to go away, even when they were slightly annoyed with each other or so she thought."

"Exactly. You're half way there. I don't think you need any clothes. Just scrubs for work and only because I'm the only person who gets to see you naked." Jackson teased her and she laughed at his rationing. "I think we should make a rule now that we live together." Jackson told her while he was hovering above her, looking down at her rosy cheeks and swollen lips.

She eyed him curiously. "You don't get to wear pants at home anymore. Of any kind." He ordered in all seriousness and she tried to stifle her laughter but couldn't. He kissed her puffy lips again, "Promise?"

"Jackson, no. I have a feeling that if I quit wearing pants at home from now on I'll never get anything done." She giggled against his lips and kissed him tenderly, tracing her nails along his neck. The scratching feeling on his neck made him growl and he flipped her over so she was straddling him.

She leaned down to kiss him and her kisses trailed down the front of his olive neck. Her fingers snuck under the hem of his shirt and smoothed over his abs…all eight of them. She pulled his t-shirt up over his head and laid more sloppy kisses down his chest. Whenever she used to see his abs like that she had an uncontrollable urge to run her tongue down them and now she could, so she did. She couldn't help herself. At the same time her hands were unzipping his jeans. When she pulled them down she pulled his boxers off with them and he was already hard. Instead of moving back up his body her lips fell onto the tip of his dick and she felt his hips arch up at her touch. Her head was bobbing up and down on him and she could hear a muffled grunt escape him every couple of seconds and his body tense up.

After she finished giving him the head she had been promising his hands relaxed on her hips as she began straddling him again. They were practically dry humping. She heard something that sounded like fabric ripping and looked down to see that he had torn her panties off.

"Uh…I-I just bought those..." She scolded him with an amused expression. He had never literally torn her panties off before, this was definitely a first. His hands landed back on her hips and he picked her up and she sank all the way back down onto him.

He listened to the way she moaned every time she fell back down onto him and tried to hold on a little longer. Her hands landed on his chest and she took over, riding him at a pace that he could barely keep up with. He sat up to get closer to her and his hands found her hair again. It was long and thick and the way he was tangling his hands made it look so hot. It was definitely sex hair. She tilted her head sideways when his lips found the crook of her neck to give him better access. Her arms linked around his neck so he could feel her breasts pressed up against his chest and it pushed him over the edge.

One scream and two orgasms later April pulled herself off of him and fell back first onto the mattress. He leaned in and gave her a loving kiss and she felt his arm fall against her waist as he cuddled up next to her. They were both trying to catch their breath when they heard a pounding at the door. It was late but not too late, just past eight pm.

When April started to get up to get it Jackson interrupted, "No, let me. Since I live here and all…" He smiled and locked lips with her one last time before hoping out of bed. When he did it was all she could do not to pounce on him since he was still butt naked. She watched him pull on his basketball shorts and jog out into the kitchen.

"Hey man, what's up?" Jackson asked whoever was at the door.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm quitting. This is bullshit. I could be at Hopkins right now. Yang took my OR, _again_. Said she owned the hospital so just shut up and wait. I had a baby born with intestinal atresia…and had to do an emergency laparotomy. Well, it was supposed to be a stupid emergency laparotomy but I had to wait two hours to do it. No nurses and my staffed ER stolen for a minor valve replacement—" Alex bitched. He was frustrated and feeling used and unimportant which Jackson could understand. It had to be hard having all of his friends take different roles in the hospital while he was still just an attending.

"Just stay. Things are going to get better. It's rough right now but I can promise you man, I'm doing everything I can to straighten it all out. I'll talk to Yang too…she shouldn't have done that. Okay?" Jackson pleaded, he definitely wanted to keep one of the best PEDs surgeons they had on staff.

"I don't know. It's just belittling. I can't take much more of this. You better get this shit together fast." Alex muttered, fists clenched and his face still red. "Shouldn't you be doing working on everything right now? What the hell?" He finally realized that he found his friend at his apartment rather than in his office.

"Oh please Alex, he's allowed to take a couple of hours off. He's been at the hospital nonstop the past couple of weeks. Give him a break. Things would be much worse if it was still Pegasus." April argued with him, he didn't even know she was there.

"And that explains why he's here….and naked. Jesus Kepner, will you let the man work? I have sick little kids to be operating on and you're here screwing him and overcompensating for the past ten years. Maybe you should be the one giving him a break." Alex teased her, finally getting that dark red blush to cover her face. "Oh and by the way, next time you have company try putting some freakin' clothes on." He left as his final statement before leaving their apartment to head back to the hospital.

"I, um…I have clothes on…" April looked down at Jacksons t-shirt she was wearing and tried to tell him as he walked out the door. The door closed before she could even finish her sentence.

She noticed Jackson standing there, looking defeated again. It took her all afternoon to lift his spirits after he came home from the hospital early, frustrated by the events of the meeting he had with the rest of the board earlier. Dr. Webers situation with his mom wasn't helping his stress level much either.

"Hey, it's not your fault that Cristina is a bitch. She shouldn't be using her position to steal OR's." April reminded him, her arms slide around his waist and he pulled her close. Her tiny frame disappeared in his arms but her embrace calmed him immensely.

When he didn't say anything she reminded him of something they'd been telling each other a lot of lately. "I love you. And I will love you until I die. And if there's life after that, I'll love you then too. No matter what happens."

Jackson smiled, "No matter what, me and you." He followed up his sweet comment with a rough squeeze on her ass and went to change and head back to the hospital. April would have been sad but she had plans with his mom anyway. She was going to mention them but figured why upset him.

* * *

"April, baby you look so happy. You're glowing, absolutely glowing. Could this be because you and Jackson are giving me a grandbaby finally?" She asked in her typical Catherine Avery way, appalling April in the meantime.

"What?! No! Absolutely not, no. Where did you get that from? We're not even married yet!"

"Marriage is the ideal situation but you and I both know I wouldn't complain if it happened now." She told the young doctor smoothly, smiling at the idea of her son and the redhead having a baby.

"Well my family would never talk to me again, I still haven't told them that we're living together…they'll probably shun me." April admitted sadly. She knew that if she told them they were living together they could put two and two together about the purity thing.

Catherine rolled her eyes and dropped the subject. She didn't understand how her parents were able to live with themselves after making their daughter feel so awful about showing her love to someone. It wasn't like she's a child, she's grown.

"Honey, you're going to love this place. It's got the best French food I've ever had. The bread alone will draw you in." Catherine Avery promised while they walked the short distance down the busy street in Seattle.

"I don't think I can eat duck. I don't think I'll be able to eat it." April told her nervously, trying to decipher the hoity menu. She just wanted a cheeseburger or a nice salad. Not a warm duck salad either.

"Darling, you will love it. I promise." Catherine dismissed her worries and ordered for both of them a couple minutes later when the waiter came back.

"You need to help Jackson. He's in over his head. You know he doesn't like all of this administrative and foundation stuff. Can't you help him?" April pleaded nervously, she knew their conversation would stay between them.

"April sweetie, I see you're worried. So is Richard. But trust me, I know my baby. The only way to get him to do something and to learn something is to throw him in head first. If I would have asked him about this hospital thing he would have said no. It will be great for him and for his resume. One thing I can tell you about all of this stuff is that he'll learn how to do it soon and it will take up less and less of his time. I'll get him an administrative assistant if that will make you feel better. But this will be good for him." She tried to pacify her and all of her concerns. She knew April was coming from a good place even though she didn't exactly appreciate getting parenting tips from yet another person.

"Okay. I'm just worried about him, he's going to give himself an ulcer pretty soon. He's downing Pepto Bismol like water." She laughed and took the last bite of her duck. "The duck was good. You were right. As usual." April admitted, savoring her last bite.

"Tell me something I don't know dear." Catherine laughed.

* * *

"Okay. I'm sorry I'm late." Dr. Avery told the rest of the surgeons on the board. It was awkwardly silent and none of them looked all too pleased with him, especially Dr. Torres of which he couldn't really understand why. They knew he didn't ask for this but he was trying to make the best of it. He motioned to the pink box filled with donuts he brought with them hoping it would ease the mood a little bit but to no such avail.

He felt like if he didn't do something soon they would start throwing things at him. Looking over his notes on his favorite yellow legal pad he made a quick 'speech' on teamwork and the hard work they were all going to put in to make the hospital as best as they could possibly make it. He mentioned his favorite part, that it was the first hospital that was owned and ran entirely by doctors themselves and they should use that to their advantage. Once everyone started to look a bit more assured at the work he was putting in he decided it might not be as bad as he thought it all was. He had managed to somewhat convince himself of their capability.

After that he introduced his final topic.

"…With that in mind, I move to rename the hospital." He started but was interrupted by Dr. Yang, "Again?"

Jackson continued on without acknowledging her sass.

"I propose we give this hospital a name that can honor the very reason we've come together and been able to do this. A name that exemplifies the spirit of this hospital but also the depth of our dedication." He finished and wrote down the proposed name.

The look on everyone's faces told him his answer. The voting was pointless. A collective "I" was received and the motion passed. Things were looking up.

* * *

**Let me know what you think :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**If Japril doesn't get back together tomorrow then I will cry. I will go down with this ship. Anyway, here's some Snowstorm :)**

* * *

Jackson had been scrambling to get upstairs to do the administrative part of his job all day but didn't actually make it there until well after two o'clock that afternoon. He'd hoped to be up there by around 10 am. The beeline he made for his office was interrupted by someone sitting at a desk outside his door.

"Who are you?" Dr. Avery asked in probably not the kindest way ever. Yesterday there was no desk outside his office. He looked back at the nameplate on the door, 'Dr. Jackson Avery – Harper Avery Foundation'. Yep, he was in the right place. Unfortunately.

The young girl stared back at him, just as confused. "You don't know who I am?" she asked meekly.

"Should I?" Dr. Avery asked. The conversation was becoming more awkward by the minute. He continued staring at her, perplexed.

"Catherine Avery, you're…wife? Hired me as your administrative assistant," the young girl explained. She looked just as puzzled to him as how he felt.

"Mom. Mother. Catherine Avery is my mother. She is not my wife, definitely not my wife," he defended and now felt a little sick to his stomach.

"Oh, I'm sorry Dr. Avery. You're mother hired me," she laughed at his reaction to her simple mistake. "I'm Missy."

He took a lingering second before introducing himself, sizing her up. She was young, early twenties. She had long dirty blonde hair that curled at the ends and blue eyes. Her attitude seemed pleasant enough to work with, as long as she could keep up.

"Dr. Avery," he introduced himself, opting to use his longer title to start so she knew they were on a formal basis. He held his hand out to shake her hand.

"Do you have anything to do yet?" Jackson questioned her. The thought of an assistant was definitely welcomed in his mind, even if his mom did it without asking him. Not that he should be surprised by that.

"Not really. She just walked me to my desk," the woman answered honestly. He saw Netflix on her computer. It wasn't going to be that kind of position.

He walked into his office and picked up just one of the many piles of files sitting on his desk.

"You can go through these and tab any sections pertaining to Harper Avery Foundation. I also would like them separated by department… plastics, trauma, OB, peds, ortho, neuro, etc. If you're not sure, just ask. Did she give you access to my calendar?" Dr. Avery questioned, staring at an immediately overwhelmed looking receptionist.

"No, I don't think so," she told him honestly. She was nervous around her new boss, especially because he was glaringly handsome. It was unexpected to say the least.

His glare down at her was almost enough for her quit right then. He leaned over her and pulled it up on her computer and typed in the access information to make sure it worked from her computer too.

"Username is Javery, password is Celtics2008," he informed her, waiting for her to jot it down but she didn't. "Are you going to write it down or chance it?"

"Oh. Right, sorry," she laughed it off and pulled a post it off a stack and wrote down the log in information. "Got it. Anything else?"

He eyed her again, not sure what to make of the situation. She didn't seem like she knew what she was doing and might be just adding to his frustrations.

He shook his head no and walked into his office, closing the door behind him. The first packet he opened was a grant proposal from orthopedics. The proposal was asking to study prosthetics that connect directly to the nervous system to improve bionic hands. Torres should know better than anyone that now is not the time to be asking for funds.

In the midst of trying to finish reading her proposal his phone rang but he stopped himself from answering it. He had to remind himself that that's what a receptionist is for. The first ring finished and then it rang again.

"Are you going to answer that?" He hollered through the door and saw her snap up the phone through his window. Receptionists were supposed to be helpful.

She surprised him by using the phone intercom system. "Dr. Avery, there is a Dr. Kepner on line one for you."

He thanked her and picked up the phone in a hurry. It had been all day and he still hadn't seen April.

"Hey you," he smiled into the phone, just excited to hear her voice.

"Who was that?" his girlfriend skipped the pleasantries. She sounded just as confused as he did this morning.

"That…was my new assistant. My mom hired her apparently. I found her outside my door this morning," He laughed while recalling the awkward introductions.

The other side of the phone was quiet before she started talking again. "Well…that's good, I'm glad. I was planning on cooking dinner tonight, is that okay with you? Barbeque chicken, green beans, corn bread…" she bragged, knowing it was one of their favorite meals.

"That sounds delicious, but I have so much work to do. I don't think I'll be able to get out of her until nine or ten," Jackson sighed. He took in the sight of piles upon piles of work he had to do and catch up on. At the same time he embodied mild annoyance at not being able to get in any OR time this afternoon.

"Oh. I…I understand. I have a lot of work to do today too, I have a lot to do this afternoon anyway," April groaned dismissively. She didn't know why she allowed herself to get her hopes up that he'd be home for dinner; he hadn't really made it home for dinner for what seemed like weeks now.

"I love you," he reminded her. "And I'm sorry about tonight. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"I love you too. And it's fine. Don't worry about it," she comforted him what little bit she knew how and disconnected. He pondered the weird conversation that just happened with his girlfriend and wondered what that was about.

Somehow Jackson managed to get quite a bit of work done, once everything settled down. He was interrupted when Missy slightly opened his door.

"It's five. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked him, hopeful that she didn't already blow her new position.

He politely nodded his head, "have a good night." After their exchange he went back to his paperwork. With the door still cracked open her heard her greet someone just past his window in the hallway.

"Missy sweetheart, how did your first day go? He heard a familiar voice ask her and with that he dropped from his chair, folding his body up to fit in the cavity under his desk.

"Good, I think. You didn't tell him he was getting an assistant?" she laughed, her introduction to Dr. Avery seeming like days ago now.

"No, of course not dear. I like to keep my baby on his feet," she chuckled at her difficult son. At least she was consistently surprising him. It wasn't her fault if he didn't choose to prepare himself better for it.

"Thank you again for the job. I'll see you tomorrow?" Missy laughed at the woman. Nothing like keeping things fresh.

"You bet," she told her and walked into Jackson's office.

He was nowhere to be seen but she knew he couldn't be far. Missy didn't say anything about him taking off for the night. The first thing she did was check the most obvious hiding spot.

"Mom." He greeted her quietly and she rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"Baby. What are you doing under your desk?" Her eyebrows furrowed and she leaned down to grab his hand and help him up off the floor.

"I dropped something. What's up?" He asked her, trying to change the subject. She pretended like she didn't notice he was hiding from her, as usual.

"Just checking on you, how was the new assistant?" Catherine asked. He didn't look as stressed like usual, or at least look as stressed. It had to have helped, maybe April was right.

"I don't know, alright I guess. And thanks for telling me about her by the way," he grumbled and sat back down at his desk. He got a forced kiss from his mom before she walked around to the other side of his desk and sat down in the chair facing him.

"She's young, but seems smart," she offered, ignoring his last statement completely.

"I don't think she likes answering the phone," Jackson told his mom and had to stifle a laugh.

Catherine raised an eyebrow and changed the subject. "Richard and I are getting married, I just thought you should know. I hope you can be happy for us."

Jackson's face must have turned fifty shades of red, because that's how angry he felt. He carefully thought about it and then articulated his response, "No, no I don't think so."

"I think you're mistaking my clueing you in with asking you for permission. This isn't about you sweetheart," she told her son matter-of-factly and stood up from her chair, walking to the door. "I hope you make the mature decision to be happy for us."

This day just kept getting better. The last thing he wanted to do today was have a conversation with his mother, let alone that conversation. He missed April. It was just after five and he knew she was home since she worked the night before. Since she called him, the only thing he'd been able to think about was her cooking so he sent her a quick text.

_Change of plans. I'll be home in about an hour. Are you still cooking or should I bring home take-out?_

His phone buzzed in response almost immediately.

_I will still make you dinner J_

He laughed at her smiley face. She was always using some emoticon. His favorite was the winking one though, no question.

Jackson used the last hour to write out a list of things for Missy to do the next day so he could spend the morning in surgery. Maybe the receptionist idea really wouldn't be so bad after all. The ideal situation would be if he could get her to the point of sorting his paperwork so he could get straight to the point and just hit the highlights. That would cut his workload down at least by half.

He was just outside of their apartment door, looking for his key when he heard something coming from his apartment he hadn't heard before. First there was one small bark and a few seconds later it was followed by another small set of barks.

As if he were at work again, he checked the number on their door to make sure he was in the right place before going inside. It was the right door and he was at the right house.

"You're home!" April greeted him, pulling him into a tight hug. She suavely pulled him in so he was facing the door he just came through, as opposed to the rest of the apartment. During their hug she tried to shoo the puppy away who was ducking out from behind the couch.

He moved in closer to give her the kiss he'd been thinking about all day and was surprised when she pulled him in to closer continue it. The only thing stopping him was that he was hungry for one, and two…he was 95% sure there was a dog in their apartment.

When he pulled away to turn around, she dropped her hands to his belt buckle and opened it before going for the zipper of his jeans. He tried to stop it but in a matter of seconds it was too late, his hands fell down to cup her bottom and she let out a soft moan.

April was in midst of pulling his jeans down but was interrupted by that small bark he heard from the hallway a few moments ago.

"What was that?" Jackson asked her, staring intently as he watching his girlfriend try and explain the barking.

"What was what?" she asked him nervously. He already knew what it was. She knew he didn't like dogs.

"Why do I keep hearing a dog barking?" he asked and watched her expression. When she did respond he walked across the living room to find a puppy…a golden retriever behind the couch.

"Um, okay. Well… you remember my friend Kara …who you met at church?" April reminded him and he nodded. "She's out of town, in Costa Rica on a mission trip. I promised her before you moved in even that I would dog sit while she was gone. I hope that's okay."

He didn't even have to think about it. There was virtually nothing he could say no to her about, though he was mildly amused at her lousy cover up attempt. "You know, you're a really bad liar." He teased and she scooped up the puppy.

"I know. I'm really sorry I lied. I just know you don't like dogs and I didn't want to put you in this position but I didn't have much other choice." She laughed and continued petting the adorable little puppy. He felt the need to explain himself.

"It's not that I don't like dogs…I just have never been around them much. My mom would never let me get one since she didn't think I could handle the responsibility and she was never home. I haven't been around dogs," he told her earnestly. It did make a little more sense.

"Try petting her. She's really sweet," April suggested. Jackson cautiously reached out to pet the puppy and the puppy warmed up to him immediately. She let Jackson pet her a few times until April put her back down on the floor and she went to continue exploring the rest of the apartment.

"How was your day?" April asked him. She reached down and entwined her hands with his.

"Alright I guess. Mostly foundation stuff. My mom hired me an assistant, but you already know that. Her name is Missy," He reported and she eyed him carefully.

"Is she pretty?" April interrogated him. She caught him by surprise; he wasn't used to her showing any kind of jealous side.

"What? No. Not at all," he tried assuring her and distracting her. She let him feel her up a little bit before the kitchen timer went off to signal dinner being done. One thing was for sure, she was going to surprise him with lunch at work tomorrow and sneak-a-peak at his new assistant.

Jackson was chowing dinner down. He had eaten two pieces of chicken, a huge serving of green beans and two corn muffins. April was eating at a normal pace.

After that initial hunger pain was filled he slowed down. "Torres sent me a proposal for a clinical trial," he told April, gaging her reaction.

She looked appalled. "What? Are you joking?" She laughed, baffled. Jackson nodded, appreciating that he wasn't the only one who thought it was inappropriate.

"Not at all. With everything that is going on right now, all of the work she knows I have. She thinks now is the time to send me some absurd clinical trial she wants me to okay," he grated. He already denied it.

"Was it at least something really good?" April asked him, her surgical curiosity getting the better of her.

"I didn't even read much of it honestly. Just the summary. She wants to work with prosthetics… adapt a way to connect them right to the nervous system," He told her, obviously still peeved about the whole thing.

"Oh, so she wants to use even more of the hospitals resources to help Arizona? Doesn't she understand there are other areas of the hospital that need upgrading too? Isn't this like the second or third proposal she's tried to get you to sign off on?" April argued, she normally didn't allow herself to get so agitated.

"What, you mean like your Lodox?" Jackson laughed and her face flushed.

"Have I thanked you for that yet by the way?" She asked her boyfriend. "Only over and over. You can thank me again in a couple minutes though if you'd like," he chuckled. She ignored the fact that their conversation had her coming off like a prostitute. And the last thing she wanted Jackson to catch grief for was favoritism.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I think she shouldn't get to do her clinical trial. Or that they're being greedy and asking for too much, I know the circumstances. There's nothing the hospital can do in the end to make up for what happened to Mark and Lexie… and what happened to Arizona's leg. It's just about the timing…you know? She should have waited until things settled down a bit," April went off on a tangent. It was unneeded because he knew exactly what she meant, he felt the same way. He could tell she was just concerned about him though. She had been trying to get him to slow down lately and to not overwork himself.

"Oh, and to make the day even better… my mom told me her and Webber are getting married," he told her, coldly. She was happy for them but she didn't dare tell Jackson that at this point in time. She knew he was being unreasonable but she had to wait until he figured it out for himself.

* * *

Jackson sat in his office on the top floor, going through more documents he had to use Google to decipher. He was surprised to look up and see April introducing herself to his new assistant Missy out in the hallway.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and reviewing :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry I never update when I promise I will! ~Please don't give up on me~**

* * *

April opened the door to Jackson's office and found him staring knowingly at her. She was too curious and had to come upstairs and introduce herself. Her first impression was that the girl was sweet and wasn't any kind of threat. Jealousy wasn't normally her thing, but she just got Jackson back and didn't want to lose him again anytime soon.

"Hi, baby," she greeted Jackson and walked around his desk to greet him warmly. He was smirking knowingly at her, wondering what possessed her to get so possessive. Not that he didn't like it or anything.

"Sweetheart," he smiled and turned his chair her way. She settled onto his lap and gave him a soft kiss. "What are you doing up here?" he questioned her, holding her tightly in his arms. She was freezing cold, nothing new for her though.

"Just seeing if you wanted to go get coffee. I'm in between surgeries and was hoping you could join me?" April smiled innocently and pointed towards the door. Jackson rolled his eyes and chuckled at his girlfriend. He had never seen her so jealous and it was endearing. She was asking about his new assistant all night.

"You came all the way up here for coffee?" he probed, trying to crack his adorably jealous girlfriend. She wasn't going to go out without a fight because she just nodded.

"…and dessert," she grinned and pulled her scrub top over her head. He glanced at the window of his office, feeling especially grateful that he had closed the blinds when he came into work in the morning. She was playing dirty, but he might as well take advantage of it. She was wearing a lacy black bra that made him stiffen all over. The way that she pulled his top off next was incredibly sexy too.

He didn't respond or argue with her, instead he decided to just let her take advantage of him. He needed the distraction and she was just asking for it.

After giving her a third orgasm in two days in his office, he took her to get coffee. On the walk down, he would randomly catch her stealing glimpses of him and she looked like there was something she wanted to say. Since he figured he knew what it was about, he figured she would talk eventually.

They got their usual coffee orders. He got black coffee with one cream and she got black coffee with one sugar. Jackson pulled out a couple dollars to pay for it, like normal. "Jackson, you can't always pay for everything. I'm a working woman, we can take turns," she pleaded and he laughed.

"Babe, it's coffee. I don't think I'll go broke buying you coffee," Jackson chuckled.

April laughed. He had a point, even though her point was that he paid for a lot more than just her coffee. "So are you—are you into Missy?" April asked out of nowhere, carefully glancing up at her tall boyfriend.

He almost spit out his coffee. The question he had been waiting for since she found him in his office earlier still managed to come out of left field.

"What? No. Not even a little bit," he said without letting out a laugh, even though it was funny. He knew she needed him to convince her and he didn't have a problem doing that.

"Okay. That's all that I needed to hear." She sighed in relief. "I know it's stupid and I'm normally not jealous like this. Well I guess I've never had a chance to be jealous like this. But you're up there with her all day, alone, and she's young and pretty and I just needed to know that you weren't into her," April rambled until she was out of breath. "Stupid, I know."

"Not stupid. If you had a young and 'pretty' assistant working with you all day, then I would never leave your side." Jackson admitted with a shady smile and she knew he wasn't kidding. She could remember when Matthew started talking to her before they actually started dating and he basically held her hand all day.

"April, I love you. And I don't want you to ever question that," he promised her sincerely and then sighed in relief. He'd wanted to tell her for weeks but he could never find the perfect time.

She looked up at him, blinking rapidly. Most likely taking it in. Her eyes were full of tears that were threatening to fall. "Jackson… I…I love you too. So freakin' much," April promised back excitedly. She knew they both felt that way but neither had actually said it.

"You're all kinds of beautiful," Jackson complimented her sweetly and she swooned. He tangled his hands in her hair and lifted her off her feet with one arm. He kissed her roughly and she giggled when his fuzzy face touched hers.

"Yeah, kiss her like you mean it Avery," Dr. Webber cheered as he walked by them in the lobby. He was joking but somehow appeared to be serious at the same time. Jackson felt April hide her face in the crook of his neck and he laughed at her high humility level.

"Mortifying," April whispered softly. Jackson chuckled. "Well we were making out in the middle of a hospital lobby. I think we were asking for that one," He joked, finding it funny even though he still wasn't on the best of terms with Webber. She gave him one soft peck and hopped down to her feet.

"I have rounds in a few minutes. See you at home tonight?" April asked mysteriously and he nodded. "Oh, and don't forget you offered to go take the dog out today on your lunch," she reminded him and waved as she turned and walked away. He groaned and remembered he actually did offer. Then again he would agree to anything after sex with her.

Jackson practically jogged back to his office to get some work done before doing surgery later. Missy had gotten through all of the files he gave her. Maybe having an assistant wasn't so bad.

"You're done with everything?" he asked her curiously. She just nodded and went back to her Netflix movie. He had to sigh at that, but at least she did the work first. She didn't seem too excited about the job. He found some more of the same for her to do and gave her some additional work. His plan was to use her to his advantage since he had no other choice and maybe get to log some more OR hours.

Luckily for him, he was paged about an hour later to the pit for a consult. He found April waiting for him near one of the first beds he saw.

"What do we have here Dr. Kepner?" Jackson questioned happily, grinning at his use of her professional name.

"Danny Hinton, lost all four fingers on his right hand in a table saw accident. His wife has them all in a cooler on ice. I was hoping you could scrub in, I was telling her how flawless your sutures are," she grinned and the wife agreed. "She promised no scars and full function if you did it," the woman spoke up. The woman had long blonde hair and clearly bad breast implants done. Her lipstick was bright red and she was snapping her gum back and forth. If Jackson had one guess, he would guess her a stripper.

"Well that is… assumptive," he looked at April nervously. They were never supposed to make promises like that. Jackson and April stepped away for a minute to speak in private at April's request. "Look, I'm sorry Jackson. She was freaking out and I know how good you are, that's all," she argued and he couldn't argue with that.

They instructed a nurse to prep an OR but April was paged to Dr. Hunt's office before they could get any further.

"Dr. Kepner… I think you should have a seat while we wait for Dr. Avery," Owen insisted.

* * *

**What's going to happen?!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'll be updating the last couple of chapters of this pretty frequently in the next couple of days. Don't forget to review/follow! **

**Also, please check out my other Japril stories...especially my lastest, Mint to Be =)**

* * *

"Dr. Avery, have a seat," Dr. Owen instructed, motioning to the open chair beside April. He had a stern and serious look on his face, he was all business. April had only been waiting a couple of minutes for Jackson. She felt like it had been an eternity.

"What's going on?" Jackson asked, he was starting to worry. If they were in trouble then the only thing he could think of it being would be the sex they'd been having in his office, sex where they hadn't been caught or at least not caught to his knowledge. He looked over at April and she shrugged in unison.

"April, your sister Alice called here…she said she couldn't get ahold of you. There's been an accident back home. I want you to sit here and call her. I also have Dr. Bailey covering the pit for you so you're both off work now. Avery, you can drive her home?" he asked seriously. Jackson nodded sternly and grabbed ahold of April's hand. She was trembling.

"Alice, this is April. What's going on?" she asked meekly. He could tell she was freaking out.

April was staring down at her hands, waiting anxiously for the news. In the meantime, Jackson took a peek at Dr. Hunt who shook his head sadly, as if to say it was only bad news.

She wasn't speaking, only listening to her sister. There were tears streaming down her face and she was nodding furiously. Her skin when pale, paler than usual, and she actually looked so white he thought she might get sick.

"I'll be home as soon as I can," she promised and hung up. "My father was killed in an accident, I need to go back to Ohio," April told them, getting up and walking out of Hunt's office. Jackson got up to chase her down the hall.

"April, wait up," he hollered, and they happened to run past Meredith and Cristina in the hallway towards the stairs.

"They can't even walk on their way to screwing," Cristina joked and Meredith chuckled. Jackson heard them as he ran by but at that point didn't give a crap about what Cristina was saying. Cristina and Meredith quickly figured out that there was some type of emergency, rather than just an on-call room consultation.

He caught up with April in the parking garage and she was just opening the driver's door. "April, let me drive," he told her slowly and she furiously shook her head. "It's fine, Jackson. I'm fine. I just need to get home."

Her tears had dried up and at this point in time she was running on pure adrenaline. There was no chance in hell that he was going to let her drive. "I mean it April, I'm driving," Jackson said, his tone sounded final, but she still didn't agree.

She shook her head and started the car. Jackson was still standing outside the driver's side door. "Dammit April, I mean it. Slide over. Now." He shouted furiously. April exploded into tears again, to the point of hyperventilating. She unclicked her seat belt and got out of the car. Jackson wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in to a tight bear hug. He held her there while she cried, and cried, and cried. Meanwhile, he rubbed soothing circles on her back and laid a simple kiss on her forehead. He walked her over to the passenger side and helped her into the car. She sat there, motionless, waiting for him to start the car. Instead, she felt him reach over her shoulder and pull the seatbelt across her body. He clicked it in and shut her door.

Jackson jogged around the back of the car and slid into his seat. He drove as fast as he could without hurting anymore. They didn't talk the whole way home and they didn't talk when they got there. Quietly, they each packed up their luggage. April called Alex to come get her friend Kara's dog and Jackson bought their tickets. He was able to get them a flight that left in three hours. They had one hour left to finish packing and get to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport which would probably take some time to get to because of traffic.

He did everything right. The ride to the airport was much like the ride back to their apartment. They walked through the airport and were able to board within fifteen minutes. Jackson had gotten them first class tickets. He normally didn't like to do that, but figured she could use the extra space on her way there. When the stewardess came by he ordered he a whiskey neat with a twist, just like she liked and got the same for himself.

"Jackson, I can't drink right now," she told him quietly. "April, one drink. It will calm your nerves and you'll be fine, especially by the time we get there. Just trust me, take the edge off," he begged her and she just shrugged, taking a slow sip.

She felt him put his arm around her and rub her shoulder softly. "It's going to be okay. I'll make sure it is, I promise," he told her, pulling the hand he was holding closer and softly kissing it. She nodded again, quietly, trying to convince herself just as he was trying to convince her.

They landed and were met by her brother-in-law Tim. He hugged them softly and led them to his car which was parked at the curb in front of the small airport.

"So, did Alice tell you what happened?" he asked April, looking over to his side at her patiently. She shrugged and shook her head no at the same time. Jackson could hear Tim inhale a large breath before explaining.

"Big Joe went out to do the morning farm work early this morning, just like he does every morning. I know you probably know, but he's usually in the house for breakfast around nine. He didn't come up at nine and Karen had me go check on him. He was…he was in the baler April. I pulled him out and I tried to give him CPR…I did. But by the time the paramedics got there it was too late, he died before we got to the hospital reached the hospital." Tim told her regretfully.

"What were his injuries?" she asked unemotionally, the trauma surgeon in her taking over. Tim shrugged in indifference. "I'm not sure they were exactly. There was… a lot of blood April. He was…crushed."

Jackson heard April choke back a sob and he leaned forward to hold her. April sobbed the last twenty minutes to the house, and Jackson did too.

When they pulled up to the Kepner house, they saw more cars than have been there for a long time. The cars lined the yard, driveway and the dirt road in front of the house. Undoubtedly most of them were April's sisters and their family, with some other close family and friends thrown into the mix.

Jackson took in the land around him. There was more land than he had ever seen for one house. It was mostly flat, but in the distance there were slight hills to it. Corn took up most of the land, with the exception of the barn and silo. There was a horse barn in the distance where he could see horses and cows next to it. It was beautiful, he couldn't imagine ever growing up in a place like that. The house was a stereotypical white farmhouse. It had blue shutters and a white picket fence around the front.

Tim turned the car off and pulled Jackson and April's luggage out of the trunk, and Jackson helped April out of the car right away. The first thing she saw when she entered through the kitchen was her mom. She was sitting at her chair at the kitchen table, sobbing. Wadded up tissues covered the table and the rest of the chairs were occupied by her sisters. They looked up when they saw her come in.

"April, sweetheart," Karen choked, jumping up from her chair and pulling her second eldest daughter into her arms. They held each other and cried, they cried until they ran out of tears. No one greeted Jackson right away, but they didn't need to and he didn't expect it. He almost felt guilty for witnessing such an emotional moment between Karen and April Kepner. April didn't look so hurt and vulnerable since the shooting.

Karen's attention turned from April when she went around the table to hug her sisters, to Jackson. He pulled her in for a hug and marveled at the way the tiny woman's frame reminded him so much of April's.

"You must be Jackson?" she asked, pulling away from him to look up and greet him. He simply nodded and she wiped away the last of her tears from her face. "Thank you for coming Jackson. Thank you for getting April home safely. You don't know how much I appreciate it." She thanked one last time and pulled out her chair. "Here, sit down, let me get you a cup of coffee. Do you like cream? Sugar?" Karen asked him, waiting for him to fall into the chair.

"Oh, Mrs. Kepner, I'm fine…really. Is there anything that I can help you with?" he asked and she actually boasted a smile. She was thrilled at the fact that April had managed to find a man that was so concerned about hers and her families well-being. She already loved him.

Karen shook her head and told him to sit one more time. Libby motioned to the chair too, laughing, "You might as well sit Jackson. She won't be satisfied until you do," she laughed and he finally gave in, taking a seat at the table.

April was still standing but Jackson pulled the chair he was sitting on out a little further for her to join him. Normally neither one would make sure a personal gesture like that in front of her family, but Jackson needed to hold her.

She gently sat on his lap and wrapped her hands around his neck. He felt her head nestle in the crook of his neck and he pulled her closer. The Kepner women started talking about the funeral and who would call the minister even though the town was so small they were all but positive he already knew. April's eyes closed and she drifted off almost instantly. They sat there for hours, until dusk, where Jackson picked her up and carried her to her old room so they could go to bed.

* * *

**Please tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I take forever to update sometimes, and for that I'm sorry. I also broke this chapter into two parts, so the rest of it should be updated tomorrow.**

* * *

April slept through the night, but Jackson didn't. The whole day had turned her into an emotional wreck. She experienced trauma every day, but it was never personal. She grieved for her patients and their families and she was as compassionate as she ever could be, certainly more so than her fellow surgeons. Truth was, she never experienced a trauma so close to home and the whole thing was leaving her a mess.

Jackson didn't know what to do. He knew there was too much to do to waste time sleeping, but on the other hand didn't know how he could actually help. He laid in April's old twin bed with her tucked into his side, sound asleep. It was always obvious to him when she was dog tired because she lightly snored and never stirred.

It was just after three am and he figured maybe a glass of water or something to eat would push him over, at least to the place of getting a little bit of shut eye. On his way downstairs to the large farmhouse of a kitchen he noticed the light peeking through. He slowly pushed it open and saw Karen sitting at the kitchen table again, this time by herself instead of surrounded by the other Kepner women.

"Mrs. Kepner, what are you doing up?" Jackson asked curiously. His voice was full of love and concern and nothing else.

"Call me Karen, Jackson, please," she feigned a small smile and put her pencil down on top of the list she was making out. "I couldn't sleep. I can barely go into our room. The divet in the bed makes it feel like Joe is right next to me. I figured now would be a good time to get a head start on all of the planning." She smiled lightly. Jackson simply nodded, understanding why she was awake.

He quietly searched through the cubbards until he was able to find a small glass. "Is there anything that I can help you with? Anything at all?"

"That's kind of you Jackson, but I think just being here for April is enough. She's always been more emotional than the other girls," Karen recalled.

"Of course," he smiled politely and opened the refrigerator. He could hear Karen scribbling tediously on her notepad and decided to feed her. He pulled out the bread and bananas. After that he dug the bread out of the bread box and started spreading the peanut butter thickly onto each piece. He found a medium size fry pan under the stove and sprayed it lightly. Next he thinly chopped a banana which made just enough for each sandwich. Then he grilled them. Once he pulled them off the stove he sprinkled a half of a spoonful of sugar over each and cut them diagonally.

Karen stopped working on her list about five minutes prior, undoubtedly wondering what in the world the now strange man in her kitchen was doing. He gave her a huge smile and set a plate identical to his in front of her.

"Jackson, you're sweet but I don't think I can eat peanut butter and bananas on a fried sandwich," she laughed, staring down at her plate.

"Try it, I promise you'll like it." He told her and dug into his. It was absolutely the best comfort food he'd ever had. The first time he had it was his intern year at Mercy West, when Reed made them for him, Charles and April after they lost their first patient. April made them for him frequently after a bad day.

She looked apprehensive but he was sure she would love it. Karen slowly picked up a half and bit into it. She let out a moan that nearly made Jackson uncomfortable and he knew she loved it.

"This is delicious. Crisp and sugary but balanced perfectly with the banana," she moaned, taking another bite. He nodded knowingly and took the last bite of his sandwich.

"They always make us feel better and you remind me so much of April that I figured you'd love them too," he leaned over and told her. She loved Jackson already.

When she was done eating she went back to her list, although now Jackson was helping her.

"What about the dinner afterwards? How about I take care of that for you?" He asked. He knew that was at least something he could just write a check to take care of and take off of her hands. Only because he had heard talk of her starting cooking in the morning for the dinner. There was no way he was going to let her put on the dinner for her own husband. Jackson cleaned up his mess in the kitchen while they talked about it.

"Absolutely not, you've already done so much." She quickly decided. He gently took the pen out of her hand and crossed off "prepare dinner" before saying goodnight and walking back upstairs.

The next morning he was woken up by April and her younger sister Libby arguing in the hallway.

"Libby, I got here as soon as possible. I can't be here all the time. What do you want from me?" April yelled back. He'd never heard her in a full on argument with anyone but him.

"I know, April. We all know. You're a brilliant surgeon in a big city. It doesn't mean you couldn't have come home a little more often. All he talked about was how proud he was of you and how much he missed you. I was just saying." Libby hollered back. No one seemed to be stopping the fight. They were probably used to it.

"It's not like that at all! Would you quit hating me for actually doing something with my life? Not all of us can get knocked up in high school and marry a guy who can put away a twelve pack a night!" She screamed back, watching her stunned sister turn around a stomp away. Jackson heard Libby slam the door down the hall and wasn't surprised to see April stomp back into their room and do the same.

She looked at him and waved her arms up in the air furiously. "How dare she! She has a lot of nerve. Especially at a time like this, bi-bitching at me for not being home enough! As if I don't feel bad enough." She was still yelling. Jackson was staring at her patiently but a smirk grew on his face.

"I want to punch her Jackson. She's just asking for it." She seethed. At this point she was pacing back and forth in front of him and he couldn't control himself.

Jackson lunged, pushing April against the wall behind her and pressing his mouth roughly against hers. Her anger nulled quickly and she in his arms.

"Uh… what has um…what was that for?" She asked him coyly, cocking an eyebrow upwards at him.

He licked his lips impatiently. "I've never seen you this mad before and it is really…really hot," he admitted and she saw a predatory look in his eyes that made her stomach flutter.

Jackson knew it wasn't a good time and she did too, but the distraction was more than welcomed. Through all of her yelling and pacing back and forth it was very obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra under her pajama shirt and her shorts were tighter than he remembered.

They woke up sometime later to someone knocking on their door. Jackson looked over at the clock… it was still only 9:30 am. April wasn't lying, the Kepner's really were early risers.

April groaned and slowly got out of bed and pattered to the door. She opened it slowly and Jackson saw her groan when it was Libby. April leaned against the door frame, her head sleepily laid on the wood.

"What do you want?" she asked her sister pointedly. Jackson got out of bed and pulled on his pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He snuck out of the room and went down the hall to use the bathroom while they talked it out.

When he came back he found April, Libby and Alice sitting on her bed and he couldn't tell if they were crying or laughing. Either way he figured it was private and went down to kitchen to find a cup of coffee.

"Jackson. Hey man," April's brother-in-law greeted and Jackson smiled welcomingly. "Morning, Kevin, hey Stella," he greeted and waved cutely to April's niece who was dropping cheerio's all over the kitchen floor. She was babbling in a voice already high enough to match April's and her sisters together. He chuckled but figured he better not bring that part up.

"Sounds just like the others, doesn't she?" Kevin chuckled and Jackson laughed, nodding his head. "I thought I was the only one who noticed the similarities."

They shared a couple more lighthearted laughs before Kevin got more serious. "Hey by the way, you've already done so much for April and for us, but we were wondering… would you mind being a pallbearer? We're one short and all of us guys are doing it, plus one of Joe's nephews. If you're not comfortable with that, it's no problem." Kevin reminded him quietly, still playing with Stella.

Jackson didn't even have to think about it. "I'm honored. Thank you for asking me," Jackson said seriously. He held his hand out firmly and shook Joe's hand. They talked about the rest of the funeral which was the next day and everything else in between before they were interrupted by April.

She was calmer than earlier in her room and was fully showered and dressed. "Morning Kev," she waved and leaned down to kiss Stella. "Hi baby girl."

"Jackson, I'm going with my mom and the girls to the church. Would you like to come or hang around here? You're more than welcome to come…" she invited him. He told her he decided to hang out around the house and let her and the rest of the women do their thing.

"I love you," he told her, pulling her in for a chaste kiss before she left. "I love you too. You're being amazing."

Once she left Jackson was interrogated by Kevin and Tim. "You two seem really serious…" Tim teased, waving his hand at the PDA that happened just seconds ago.

Jackson smiled widely. They were. "Yeah… between us?" he asked and waited for them to nod their heads in agreement. "I have a ring, I've just been waiting for the right time," he whispered, though there was no reason to since it was just them.

* * *

**How do you think Joe Kepner's funeral will go?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here it is. Just like I promised for once.**

* * *

That night, the night before the funeral, was spent reminiscing about Joe. Libby told the story about telling her parents she was pregnant. At 16. Now it was funny, but then not so much. She talked about Big Joe pulling his pistol out of his nightstand and stomping outside to his truck to go find Chris.

"What was it Mom? Twenty minutes later and Dad pulled Chris into the house by his collar and made him sit while he interrogated him?" she laughed, looking over at Chris.

"The only thing I remember about that night is your dad setting his old pistol on the kitchen table, right in front of me and staring at me until I cracked." Chris remembered barely. Libby laughed and Karen shook her head. "Pregnant at 16. Olivia Kepner." Karen let out a small laugh, since she had gotten over her anger and disappointment at Libby over the years.

"That's nothing. Remember when Uncle Mike caught Shelby Morris and I skipping class? Found us at Franklin Park Mall and dragged us both home?" she chuckled, shaking her head. "Dad physically walked me into school every day for the next year and then picked me up at the door to make sure I stayed the whole day."

Jackson shook his head in disbelief and laughter. The more stories he heard, the more he respected Joe Kepner. Having four closely aged daughters, especially teenage daughters, was respectable in itself. He couldn't even imagine. He looked over at April who had been oddly quiet during the whole conversation and she tried to set him straight.

"Hey, don't look at me! I was never a trouble maker like you guys," she laughed, waving her hands innocently. Kimmie interrupted that. "Oh please, April. You were the worst because you knew you could get away with anything you wanted! You were always Dad's favorite," Kimmie laughed. "Remember when Mom and Dad caught you sneaking back in after you took the truck with Sarah Walters and Rachel Maxwell to Toledo to see the Foo Fighters? He was livid and you were grounded for a month. That was the last time I ever remember you getting in trouble!" She teased and Alice and Libby laughed just as hard as Libby was. April blushed furiously and looked at Jackson.

"Wow. Look at you. Sneaking out and everything. Who would have thought?" Jackson chuckled. April playfully knocked shoulders with him. "I had to get it out of my system I guess," she giggled.

"Wait, that's not the last time! I totally forgot about the time April was suspended for three days for piercing Sarah's ear's for her in school!" Alice practically hollered, thrilled she was embaressing her sister in front of her boyfriend.

"What?!" Jackson snorted, looking over at April. They were all hysterical at this point. "I still don't see why I was suspended! She asked me to do it!" She laughed. "We were in art class and Sarah and wanted them pierced just like Nora Willbee's. We used Cody McKinley's lighter to sterilize the needle and everything." She laughed and Jackson laughed. Never in a million years would he have imagined April doing any of these things.

"Oh, I remember Cody McKinley," Alice teased. "Jackson, did you know that April's married?" she asked, looking over at him. His eyes widened to the size of golf balls. He didn't say a word. "Yeah, in kindergarten Cody McKinley proposed to her on the playground and they were married by…who was it April?" she asked looking at her smiling sister. "Johnny Reynolds." April giggled.

"Yeah, his family always sat by ours in church too. We told Dad about it and the next Sunday he gave Cody a 25 cent ring out of coin machine to give to you. You wore it for the rest of the school year," Libby laughed. "Dad even let you sit next to him at church and hold his hand," it was adorable, her Mother chimed in unexpectedly.

After a couple more rounds of stories, couples went off to bed one by one. April grabbed a hold of Jackson's hand. "Are you ready for bed?" she asked sleepily. He nodded and stood up with her. "Goodnight," they both waved before hiking up the stairs for bed.

Jackson shut her bedroom door behind him once they both were inside. They stripped out of their clothes, April putting on his oversized Harvard t-shirt and him down to his boxers. They got into her bed which was just long enough to house Jackson. He pulled her tightly into his side and kissed her forehead.

"Tomorrow's going to be ok, you know. You have a great family, they love you a lot." Jackson whispered and he felt her nod. She knew he was right but she still missed her Dad and he knew that. It was odd not seeing him sitting at his normal spot at the kitchen table with them. They left that chair empty, out of respect and because it only felt right.

"Thank you for coming with me Jackson, I don't know what I would do without you," she stared up at him lovingly. "April, you're the love of my life. There is literally not one thing that I wouldn't do for you," he promised and she smiled. She laid her head back on his warm chest and ran her hands soothingly over him. They weren't able to stay awake any longer and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning was hectic to say the least. The bathroom was occupied all morning and the house was much quieter than it had been the night before. Jackson and April saved time and showered together, though it was a very short and innocent shower. They strictly showered and came back to her room to get ready.

April pulled on black lacy panties and a matching strapless bra. She pulled her black strapless dress out of the dry clean bag and pulled it on. She turned around and felt Jackson zip her dress up for her. He kissed the side of her neck softly and went back to buttoning his pants up. She saw him sit on the sit of her bed to put his socks and loafers on. She found a black cardigan to add to her dress and put it on. Jackson buttoned up his white dress shirt and she pulled black tights on gently. Once Jackson had his tie laying across his neck, April walked over to tie it for him. She tied it quietly and precisely, something that Jackson had never quite been able to master, despite being an Avery and wearing ties all his life.

She handed Jackson her silver cross necklace that her parents got her when she was confirmed and he clasped it behind her neck for her. Jackson found his suit jacket and put it on, April sat at the tiny vanity in the corner of her room to put her make up on.

"You look beautiful, baby." He told her quietly while she straightened his tie once again. Even though she was wearing high heels she had to stand up on her toes to kiss him back. "Thank you." She spoke quietly and held his hand. They walked downstairs and met most of the rest of her family and April poured them both a cup of coffee. She put a cream in Jackson's and a sugar in hers, just like they liked it.

"I can't believe we're about to go to Dad's funeral," Kimmie sighed, holding her youngest daughter Anna in her arms. She was shaking her head in disbelief and so were the rest of Kepner girls, even Karen.

"You're father had a good life. He loved you girls more than anything he's ever loved, you were so important to him." She told them softly, looking at her girls. They were all so grown up now she could barely believe it. She had grandchildren and son-in-laws. She had a daughter who was a surgeon and a daughter who was a teacher just like her. She had one who put everything she had into her family and one who played the violin more elegantly than anyone she'd heard before and was on her way to making it big. Thing had changed for the Kepner's since their family started more than thirty years ago but it was all for the better. They only thing that never changed during all of the that time was the love they had for each other. That was something that would never change, no matter how much they did.

They all drove separately to the church, which was yet to be filled with anyone other than them and the pastor. The casket was closed, no doubt because of the mannor in which he died. April knew it was for the best and had insisted on it, even though they thought they could manage him enough to keep it open. She walked up to the casket with her sisters and her mother to say goodbye. She cried and they cried. They held hands and looked at the man that had given them everything. He worked his ass off every day so that they could have everything. He was their hero and always had been.

Jackson waited for her a couple pews back. He sat alone and waited for her. Once she found him they mingled with the extended family and the friends that made their way into the church. He met old teachers and neighbors and aunts and uncles. The most memorable thing about that day for April and Jackson was that they never heard one bad word about Joe Kepner.

"Will you sit up front with me? I can't do this without you," April whispered vulnerably at Jackson. He nodded automatically. "I was hoping you'd ask me to."

They stood at the back of the church and watched the pews fill. The church was crowded, more crowded than they had ever seen it be. Even on Christmas Eve.

Once everyone was seated the family made their way up to the front and filled the first two pews on each side of the sanctuary. Jackson held April's arm and hand closely. He kissed the top of her hand to show her he was there for her.

The pastor started by reading a passage out of the bible and talking about Joe's point here on Earth. He talked about Joe's childhood and his service to the country. He talked about when he met Karen. Then he talked about what a wonderful father Joe was and how he couldn't have been any more successful as a father. The funeral was succeed by the song Amazing Grace. Even Jackson, who had only met Joe Kepner once, lost it. It killed him to see the love of his life losing someone she loved so much. Her pain was killing him.

Jackson and the rest of the Kepner son-in-laws met at the front of the church to carry Joe out. It was quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. They carried him out and got into the limousine behind the hearse that was for the pallbearers. Jackson saw April, her sisters and their mother get into the limousine behind theirs. Soon after the church emptied and nearly every car joined the succession to the cemetery.

The weather at the cemetery some twenty minutes later was cold and windy. They listened to the last reading and waited anxiously to just make it back to the house for the dinner. They needed to get this part of the day behind them. When they arrived home, the house felt cold and empty. It felt much emptier than it had even earlier that day or in the days beforehand.

The food from the caterer lined the dining room buffet and the girls wondered where all the food came from. They hadn't even thought about setting up a potluck, even though they knew friends and family would be joining them back at the house afterwards.

Karen looked over at Jackson. "You can thank Jackson. I told him it wasn't necessary," Karen told them. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Jackson hugged her back, already loving his potential mother-in-law.

The rest of the sisters did the same, lastly April. "You are so sweet," she kissed him. She left her arms wrapped around his waist and laid her head gently on his chest. Jackson held her, soothingly rubbing her back and keeping her close.

Karen took the time in the hours after the funeral to take a few pictures of her daughters. She got a few of them all together and separate. She snuck in pictures of them with their significant others and children. She got a few with just her and each daughter.

April and Jackson were leaving for Seattle the next day. "We will be back soon to visit mom, I promise." April told her, giving her mother one last hug before they drove their rental back to the airport. Jackson hugged Karen and thanked her for her kindly for her hospitality.

* * *

The flight back to Seattle was quiet, just like most of their week. When they got back to their apartment they spent the day unpacking and catching up on housework. Jackson ordered a pizza so April wouldn't feel the need to try and cook dinner. They didn't talk much, but there really wasn't anything to say.

"I think I'm going to go back to work tomorrow. I need to work." April said when she found him in the living room watching the Red Sox game. "Are you sure?" He asked, studying her intensly. She smiled and he sighed. "If that's what you want sweetheart," he decided and pulled her down with him to watch the rest of the game.

It was ten o'clock and they were both insanely tired. The weekend had been draining to say the least. "I'm going to bed," April told him. She gave him a goodnight kiss and got up. "I'll be right in."

Jackson turned the tv off and looked around the apartment. Everything looked normal and put together. He sat at their desktop computer and got online. He found a plane ticket that left Toledo for Seattle in a little over a month. He paid for the ticket and printed it, wrote out a short letter to Karen and closed the envelope so he could mail it to her in the morning. By the time he made it to bed, April was sound asleep.

* * *

**I tried not to make it *too* sad. What did you think of the funeral?**


	11. Chapter 11

April had a harder time at work the next day than she thought she would. She walked in with Jackson and Cristina was in the locker room changing. They smiled pleasantly at her and she gave them 'the look'. The 'I'm really sorry' look. Actually, it was a look that they didn't even know she was capable of. She awkward walked up to April and hugged her. Actually hugged her. April was in shock and didn't reciprocate the hug until she realized what was happening.

"I'm glad you're… good to see you back Kepner." Cristina smiled before leaving the two in the locker room to change.

"That was… strange," Jackson admitted, bewildered. April nodded in agreement. "Very."

After they were dressed Jackson pulled her into him and kissed her forehead. "I've got to go upstairs and catch up on some paperwork. Will you be alright?" He asked her. He seemed concerned.

She shook her head to assure him that she would be. "How about I bring you lunch later today?" She asked. Taking care of him helped her. It at least gave her something else to focus on. He agreed quicker than she thought he would ask she watched him walk out of the attending's locker room and head down the hallway.

April took the stairs down to the pit and noticed how busy it was. She turned off quickly into her small office to check her email and such. Her desk was covered in flowers. She read the tags and was stunned. There was a large arrangement from Alex. It was full of yellow roses and white mums. It was gorgeous. She didn't know he was capable of anything like that either. She was trying to stop her sobs before reading the other tags. The next was another one with pink and red roses, lilies and snapdragons. It was bright and beautiful. The tag read "Our heart is with you. Love Meredith, Derek, Zola and Bailey." There was a small one in the corner of her office from Dr. Bailey.

She scribbled their names on a notepad so that she could remember to do something special to thank them all. When she got to reading her email she was sidetracked by one from Reed's mom. It was expressing her sorrow and trying to catch up. She'd heard through a couple of April and Reed's old Mercy West friends.

April began to respond but was paged to the helicopter pad at the top of the building for an incoming air trauma. She grabbed a gown to tie on her way up the elevator. Her and Dr. Ross and two nurses waited for the helicopter to come in.

She waited until the gurney was pulled out. "What have we got?"

"Forty five year old man. Man vs. tractor. Looks like tractor won. Flown in from Port Orchard." the EMT said quickly, pumping oxygen evenly into the man's lungs. Dr. Ross looked worriedly over at his boss. "Dr. Kepner, are you going to be okay with this?"

She stared at the man on the gurney and nodded her head that she would be, yet she still wasn't moving. The man was covered in blood and looked like he had been ran over and backed up on several times.

"Page Dr. Hunt and Dr. Webber!" Dr. Ross ordered the nurses. Even though she insisted she was, he knew April was in no condition to operate, especially on this patient. He managed to keep him stable while April followed them back down to the pit.

"Dr. Ross, they're both in surgery already. I paged Dr. Bailey but she's still in San Francisco. You know that if you don't stop the bleeding soon, he'll die, right?" She asked nervously at Dr. Ross who was staring between the nurse, April and the man on the gurney. April was quiet and obviously in shock. "There's no one else you can page?" He asked. Him and a few other nurses were arranging the man and assessing all of his injuries. She shook her head no.

His blood pressure dropped and his heart rate soared. "Dr. Ross, you need to stop the bleeding or he'll die. Looks like you're operating. OR 2 is ready for you." She insisted and he was stuck. "I'm just an intern. I've never had a solo surgery. I can't do this, there's no way." He mumbled both to himself and the insistent nurse.

"Looks like you're going to have to. Come on!" She yelled and started pulling the man down the hallway. Dr. Ross eventually followed the nurses, running down the hallway to catch up with them. April didn't budge from her spot in the ER room. She decided in that amount of time, in the middle of her shock, that Dr. Ross even being an intern would be more capable of performing the operation than she would be at this point in time.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Jackson scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to an on-call room. He laid her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She cried hysterically and Jackson lost track of how long.

"What are the chances?" She eventually asked, rolling over to be face to face with Jackson. He shrugged in disbelief. "I've never seen anything like that happen."

"Me neither." April breathed tiredly. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tear and mascara stained.

"Why don't we take a short nap before going back to work?" He asked hopefully. She was out like a light before she could even agree. He watched her sleep before following her off into sleep himself. She woke him up by crawling on top of him and kissing his lips tenderly, followed by the rest of his face. He moaned at her soft touch and felt her kisses falling down his neck.

"April," He groaned to stop her but his hands found the back of her head as she started kissing him lower and lower. Her hands rested under the hem of his scrubs top and he leaned up so she could pull it off of him. She kept kissing him, placing sloppy kisses down his sculptured abs until she found the carved out 'v' leading downward.

Her small hands looped inside the top of his boxers and he immediately arched his hips so she could pull them down. Within minutes she felt his whole body stiffen up before he fell over the edge. He pulled her up to kiss her, though still completely out of breath gasping for air. She laid directly on top of him and kissed him once softly before peppering the rest of his face with kisses.

He grinned cheekily and looked over at her curiously. "What was that for?"

"I just love you more than I ever thought I could love anybody," She admitted quietly. "I've never been with anyone who would….who would do anything for me."

Jackson pushed her hair out of her face. "You're worth it."

They were brought back to reality by a hospital page. "Dr. Avery to administration, Dr. Avery to administration."

He ignored it and kept kissing her. Nothing in administration was urgent to him.

"Babe, you should see what they want. I'm sure you're really behind," She leaned down and placed a kiss on his shoulder. "I'll bring you lunch soon." She smiled pleasantly as if all of her troubles had been washed away.

"No, April… you don't need to bring me lunch. Come up for lunch and I'll have something ordered for us. How does that sound?" He asked as he stood up and pulled her with him.

April bent over and pulled her messy hair together to tie into a pony tail. "That sounds wonderful, I"ll see you soon."

Jackson smacked her ass as she turned to walk down the opposite end of the hallway. Jackson finally made it up to his office, since he got caught up in conversations on his way the first time.

"Good morning, Dr. Avery," Missy greeted pleasantly. He forgot he had an assistant for a brief moment.

"Oh hey, Missy. Sorry I've been gone so much, I hope you've been able to at least keep somewhat busy?" He asked professionally. She shrugged and went back to her Facebook screen. Jackson made a mental note to ask his Mom what made him choose a 20 year old college student as his assistant.

When he finally made it to his office he found his desk cleared off and paperwork neatly filed. Almost everything he knew he'd have to do today was done with the exception of a couple things that appeared to be waiting for signatures. His 12:00 pm meeting was cancelled, apparently that was what his page was for.

He stuck his head out his office door. "Missy, do you know who was in here?" He asked her sternly. She answered him quietly, "I just figured I could help with a few things so I organized your desk and did the paperwork I found that I could help with."

He had no idea she was even capable of anything more than Netflix and Facebook. "Uh, thanks. Really. That cleared up most of my day and probably tomorrow even." Jackson laughed. Maybe Missy wasn't so bad after all. At least when she wanted to be productive.

Jackson noticed Karev wandering blindly down the hallway. "Hey, I'm Dr. Karev," Alex introduced himself to Missy with that cocky look he gets.

Jackson leaned against the door frame to his office and coughed irritatingly. Alex got the hint and followed him into his office.

"I swear you have the attention span of a goldfish. No sleeping with my assistant." Jackson warned. Karev groaned. Now that he made it a rule that he couldn't, that was all that he wanted to do.

April on the other hand discovered more flowers on the nurses station when she finally noticed. There were eight arrangements to be exact. This time instead of letting them make her sad, she got everyone's attention.

"Hey everyone, I just wanted to say something really quick." She said loudly as she waved her arms in the air to grab their attention.

"As you all know my dad died in an accident back home last week. I want to say thank you to everyone here for being so supportive and understanding. I love you all." She acknowledged while she smiled gleefully and thought about how lucky she was to have such a great support system at work.

Everyone clapped at her thank you and the came up to hug her. The last person who approached her was Catherine Avery.

* * *

**I can never resist bringing in the one and only Catherine Avery. Look for some April/Catherine bonding time next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Uh oh! Catherine and April manage to find a little bit of trouble?**

* * *

April walked over to a worried looking Catherine. "Catherine! What are you doing here?" She asked the older Avery, while giving her the hug she was waiting for. She remembered Catherine telling her about a microscopic urology procedure she had been developing and it didn't seem like it would allow her to leave Boston anytime soon.

"I was worried about you April," Catherine told her favorite red head. "Oh, uh… that's really sweet of you Catherine, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine," April forced a smile and tried to make it convincing.

"Baby, you don't have to lie to me. I lost my father only a couple of years ago and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him. Let's go to lunch." Catherine offered, wrapping her arm around April and pulling her towards the parking lot.

Catherine led them to Jackson's car and April looked over at her, confused. "Jackson is lending me his car for the day since I took a cab here instead of getting a rental." April shrugged and fell into the familiar Audi A7.

They stopped their conversation to figure out where to go. "Oh! I know this great lunch place that Jackson took me to. It's on Third," April directed her. It was rare that she got to choose where they went so she wanted to pick something she knew would be exceptional. She continued guiding Catherine there until they found a spot nearly right in front of it.

"Wild Ginger?" Catherine laughed at the name, shaking her head. "Jackson thinks it's hilarious. I swear he would still take me here even if the food was awful. But luckily their food is delicious." April laughed. The first time Jackson took her to Wild Ginger she was less than impressed with the name and even less than that with the look on Jackson's face when she saw the name. Luckily for him the food was so good she decided to overlook it.

"I'm gonna get him for that," Catherine laughed. She turned her head and looked at the empty space she was trying to parallel park in. She turned the wheel to the left and backed in slowly before turning the wheel the other way. When she straightened the wheel to pull forward in the spot just a little bit she accidentally flew forward, rear ending the Ford sedan in front of her.

"Shit!" She shouted, taking her hands off the wheel and raising them in defeat. Her eyes were bulging and she looked over at April. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm um… I'm fine." April acknowledged and quickly looked over at Catherine with the same expression Catherine had.

"We should uh, we should check their car," April said shakily, pointing to the car Catherine rear ended. They got out saw that there was virtually no damage on the Ford but Jackson's Audi had a destroyed front bumper and a dented hood. Catherine shrugged and put her business car on their hood and pulled a piece of scrap paper out of her purse to write a note.

April was silently freaking out. Jackson had just got that car less than a month ago. She knew how much he loved it because she vividly remembered him dragging her with him every Saturday for weeks to test drive and check out different models. Finally he found one that he nicknamed his 'baby'.

"Well, we're here. We might as well still get lunch," Catherine decided, heading into the restaurant. "You coming dear?"

She nodded and followed the woman inside. They were lucky enough to get a small table for two near the window overlooking the garden even with no reservation. Catherine scoped out the menu while April looked at the specials list. "What's good here?"

"They have this amazing green papaya salad here. I've never seen it anywhere else and it's…to die for." April laughed. She was practically drooling. She got the same thing every time they came. Jackson always got something different and tried to get her to too but she loved the salad too much to consider it.

Catherine chuckled. "Alright, I'll have to try that. I think we need a cocktail. Take the edge off. Don't you think sweetheart?"

April looked at her nervously. "Oh, well, I would… I'm just in the middle of my shift."

"No, take the rest of the day off. You can take a half a day. Try again tomorrow?" Catherine suggested. "I think I'm going to try the ginger martini."

April had to laugh at that. "That's what Jackson gets. It's delicious. I'm going to get the oo-la-la."

"The oo-la-la?" Catherine chuckled. April explained it to her in more detail. "It's whiskey with cherries and orange liqueur with soda. Tastes a bit like a whiskey sour."

They were done with their first cocktail by the time they ordered their lunch. "You know sweetheart, you're going to be okay. I know it doesn't feel like it and I know your heart is heavy but you are one of the strongest people I know. I'm here for you and I know Jackson's been there for you." Catherine convinced her and April nodded. Her eyes were teary and she held up her glass. They clinked their glasses and finished off their first round.

The waiter arrived soon after with their salads and they ordered a second round of drinks. This time Catherine got the same oo-la-la that April got after she tried it.

"This is tasty. I love the orange flavor in it," Catherine decided, lightly stirring her drink with the small black straw. April nodded. "They go down easily." She told her and smiled.

"So what's next for you dear? You passed your boards…Jackson told me you're staying at Seattle Grace. Any plans for the summer besides Greece?" April was nodding until she heard Greece mentioned.

"I'm sorry, Greece?" She asked blankly. Catherine stared at her quietly for a second. "Yeah, Greece this summer with Jackson?" She asked her second favorite Seattle Gracer.

April stared blankly back at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh honey, I thought he told you already. Jackson's taking you to Greece this summer. But you didn't hear it from me." Catherine laughed awkwardly and April's mind started to wander. She wondered when he planned this and what made him want go to Greece. She also wondered why he didn't tell her or ask her.

They were interrupted by the waiter. "Is there anything else that I can get you ladies?"

Catherine glanced over at April who was nursing the rest of her drink. "We'll each have one more," she told him, pointing at their cocktails. "Oh! And a blackberry and a mango sorbet!" April asked as he was walking away. Catherine got her drunk. Mission accomplished.

The waiter brought back their last drinks and the sorbet. Both of which were exceptional. The check came and both Catherine and April reached for it. April was shocked when Catherine lightly smacked her hand away and stole it. "April sweetheart, this was my treat."

April grinned. "Thank you. It was really good to see you again." And she meant it. Something about Catherine Avery was calming to her, she could be herself.

Catherine smiled lovingly back at her. "Don't be a stranger. I know Jackson insisted you unfriend me but I think we should say screw him and be facebook friends again. I like keeping up with you on it." She laughed and April agreed. If Jackson didn't like it then that was just going to be too bad.

"What are you going to do about his car?" April giggled with wide drunk eyes. Catherine was clearly tickled by her laughter. She waved her hand carelessly, like it was the least of her problems.

"Well…we have to take a cab back since neither one of us are in condition to drive," She laughed. "And I think you should tell him about the car. He'll take it much better from you. Especially if you give him a little something something when you tell him." Catherine nudged her and April looked at her horrified.

"What? Catherine, I can't do that!" April giggled and Catherine disagreed and figured even though April didn't actually say so she would take care of it for her.

They got back to the hospital and Catherine said goodbye to April, at least temporarily. "I'm going to see Richard. Call me." She sang and kissed April's cheek. She slipped Jackson's car keys into April's pocket and sauntered away before she could object.

April was on a mission to find Jackson. After searching all of his frequent spots and favorite spots she ran into Karev who was changed and walking out to the parking garage to leave.

"Hey Alex, have you seen Jackson?" She asked him, her words came out slightly slurred together. Alex must have noticed because he grinned triumphantly.

"April Kepner. Drunk in the middle of the day." He made fun of her, cracking up at her giddy state.

She laughed frivolously at his reaction and waited for him to finish laughing so he could answer her.

"He went home early. Said something about getting some rest and waiting for you. You want me to give you a ride home?" Alex asked seriously. He pointed behind her to his old Chevy Blazer. The last thing he wanted to do was let her drive herself home like that.

"That would be great. You're amazing." She teased and hopped into the Blazer. He watched her roll the window down and then start flipping channels on the radio. "I love this song!" She sang in an especially cheerful mood.

He hadn't heard it before. It wasn't especially his type of music. "What is it?"

She glanced at him, surprised. "Bones by Ginny Blackmore. You've really never heard this song?"

He shook his head. "I don't listen to chick music," and chuckled.

She sighed. "It's on The Pulse all the time." That only reinforced what he said to him.

Alex tried to keep the conversation light. He carefully avoided the topic of her father and told her all about working with Robbins who was in a more than pissed mood recently. He complained about how she was riding him and told her about him and Jo a little bit.

"I'm glad you're happy," April beamed, leaning over to kiss his cheek drunkenly. "Don't mess it up this time." She giggled and hopped out of the Blazer. Alex waited to pull away until he saw her open up the door to their apartment and he knew she was home.

She smelled something spectacular before even opening their apartment door. When she did she saw Jackson inside, cleaning up a kitchen that was clearly just used to make dinner.

"Hey good lookin', what ya got cookin?" She asked him huskily, sneaking her hands up around his shoulders.

"Enchiladas. They'll keep if you're still full from lunch." He cooed and kissed her hello.

She giggled and leaned up onto her tip toes to kiss him again. "You're drunk." He laughed lowly, pulling her closer to him. His warm hands slid from her lower back down to her bottom and pulled her closer.

"I am. Your mother got me drunk," April teased and kissed his chest softly.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Well you are a lightweight." He joked softly. She nodded and let out a small moan when his hands squeezed her bottom lightly.

"How did you get home then?" He asked her curiously, even though he knew she was smarter than to drive home drunk.

"Alex gave me a ride home." She told him, easing his mind. She pulled his car keys out of her pocket and dropped them on the table beside her. His eyes followed the keys and he nodded. "We're going to have to take your car in tomorrow since mine is still at the hospital."

She looked up at him nervously before her hands went for his belt. Maybe Catherine was right and she should soften him up before telling him about his car. She unclasped his belt and heard him moan huskily at her touch. She unzipped his pants and felt him tense up. His hands gripped the top of her head and she felt them tangle in her hair. "Only problem is it's not at the hospital."

She dropped his jeans and he pulled her chin up to look at him.

"If it's not at the hospital then where is it?" He asked his frisky girlfriend curiously. She mumbled something inaudible. "What was that?"

She took a deep breath. "Your mom crashed it while trying to park and then we got drunk and left it there." April saw a brief look of terror on his face.

Jackson's eyes almost popped out of the socket.

In retrospect she would have phrased that a lot differently. She looked up at him and held the sides of his face.

"What?! What do you mean my mother crashed my car? How? Where? Are you okay? Is she okay?" He asked frantically while simultaneously searching for his cell phone to call his mom. He was pacing and looking back at her.

"I'm fine, your mother is fine. It wasn't as bad as it sounds but there is a little bit of damage. I'm sure your mother will take care of it," she smiled and tried to calm him. He nodded and dropped it, probably because he felt April's petite hands yank down his boxers so she could finish what she started.

* * *

**Thank you for staying with Snowstorm!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Last chapter! Please review and follow me to look for more stories and Mint to Be updates!**

* * *

"I let you two take my new car one time and this is what happens," Jackson huffed and smirked at the same time. He'd yet to get out of bed so they could go get his car because he April was still trying to make it up to him. He groaned when her tiny hands snuck down his chest again.

"I can't," he whined while he pulled her hands off of him and deposited her onto the other side of the bed. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked over at him. "Why not?"

"Because this is real life and I'm not Ryan Gosling," he chuckled. "You've had your way with me four times in the last three hours. Little Jackman needs a rest."

April tossed her head back and sighed. "Prude," she teased him and smirked. He shook his head in amusement. Something about April Kepner calling him the prude was ironic and sidesplitting. Even though four times in a row was the most she could remember them ever going at it for, she still had a little more in her engine. She gave up when she noticed how exhausted Jackson looked however.

She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss and laid her head on his chest. He pulled her into her favorite spot and cuddled with him. "Go to sleep. We'll go get your car first thing in the morning." April whispered in his ear before drifting off to sleep herself.

Jackson woke up the next morning before April did. To his disbelief, it was the first time since he was thirteen that he didn't wake up with morning wood. He looked down and stared, not sure whether to be worried or excited. He figured it would be in his best interest to take advantage of it and get up early to show and get ready to get his car.

First he walked down to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee for him and April. He was feeling extra energetic so he put a batch of bran muffins he liked to make in the oven while he jumped in the shower. His shower was short like usual but it felt good to wash the day before off and start fresh. When he peeked out of the bathroom he saw April still passed out on her stomach and she was sprawled out across the bed. There was just a small corner of their purple sheet covering her and he wanted to pounce on her. He knew waking up the way he did was no good.

April was woken up to Jackson hovering above her and kissing down her neck and back. She could feel one of her favorite parts of him resting on her bottom and moaned at the sensation.

"Good morning baby," he greeted her once he made his way back up to her ear. She tilted her head to the side so she could kiss him good morning. "Morning." April giggled and rolled over so she was facing him.

He tangled his hands in her thick red hair and peppered her face with kisses just like she liked to him to do. She'd be lying if she tried to say that morning sex wasn't one of her favorite things. Morning sex always seemed to start her day off on a good note.

"Does this mean you're not mad about your car anymore?" She asked timidly and squeezed his butt, something she could never resist doing.

He laughed and shook his head. "I was never mad at you about my car. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I have a really, really hard time being mad at you about anything," Jackson laughed. His attention wandered back to her glorious body and he paid extra attention to her breasts. "I mean seriously, I would be a fool to be mad at you when you have these. I'd be missing out big time."

She nodded and agreed with a certain grin on her face that made him laugh. He held himself against her entrance and pushed in with ease when he felt how ready for him she was. Her eyes rolled back in her head and then her entire head rolled back into her pillow. He moaned loudly when her nails dug into his shoulder blades and he felt them scrapping down his back. The harder she scratched him, the harder he thrusted into her .

She tightened around him and he could tell she was about to release when his pager went off and and cell phone started ringing just a second later. He ignored it and kept pounding into her. "Jackson…your…your phone," April whispered, sounding so out of breath he barely understood her. "Ignore it, ignore it." He told her sternly.

She reached over to his night stand and picked it up. "It could be the hospital," she apologized and answered the call, handing blindly handing him the phone.

"Dr. Avery," he said bluntly while resting gently inside her. She eyed him curiously.

"Mom! I'm still at home. I haven't even seen my car yet. I'll see you later this morning!" He yelled grumpily and April laughed. He looked down at her gruffly and she let out a small giggle at his annoyance. After all, she knew it was her fault he was stuck on the phone with his mom.

"I can't talk right now Mom, I'm getting ready for work." Jackson replied, trying to get off the phone. April could hear his mom still talking on the other end and him barely hanging in there. She couldn't control herself any longer and let her hand wander down to where he entered her and she smirked, especially when his eyes grew wide and he groaned loudly. He must have forgotten he was on the phone.

"I know we have a meeting this morning. I'm prepared for it. Anything else?" He asked and regretted it immediately when she actually did keep talking. While listening to his Mom ramble, he felt April push him onto his back while he was still inside her. She straddled him excitedly and rode him until she could finish what he started. "Okay. Okay. I love you too. Bye." He finally said and ended their conversation just as April fell over the edge. Seeing her lose control like that pushed him right over as well.

Fortunately for Jackson he didn't have to see his Mom at work until after their meeting. She grinned at him knowingly. "Have a good morning wakeup call?"

"Mom! Seriously? No!" He bantered with her and she followed him back to his office.

She shook her head. "How naïve do you think I am Jackson? I'm just shocked that April had it in her to keep going while you were on the phone. I'm impressed," she laughed and Jackson eyed her awkwardly. Luckily they made it to his office and at this point he was fully able to lock her out of it.

Before he could lock the door, she brought up his car. "And I already told you I'm going to pay for the damages!"

With that he opened it again and eyed her gallingly. "You ruined my brand new car! If you knew you couldn't parallel park then when would you try it?!" He hollered, surprising Missy, his receptionist. He figured he had shocked her when she actually paused Private Practice that she was watching on Netflix and looked up at them and their argument.

"I didn't know that I couldn't parallel park baby! Now I _know_," she told him and laughed. He didn't find the humor in it. "Just like when I thought I was going to specialize in cardio. I thought it was a good idea, turns out I was horrible at it." Jackson actually laughed. He had done the same thing.

"I'll pay for the damages. Okay darling?" She asked him, gently resting her hand on his cheek. He nodded and shut his door in her face.

He couldn't see his Mom out there anymore after a few minutes so he dialed Missy. "Is she gone?"

"She's gone. Anything you want me to do today?" She asked boringly, even letting a slight yawn slip out. "Ok. I have a stack of files for you to go through that I'll bring out in a couple of minutes."

"Okay, Dr. Avery. Thanks." She sighed. He knew she hated this job but he was embracing assistanthood.

"And actually, I'm going to be leaving early to run some errands and such. If Dr. Kepner calls will you please tell her that you haven't seen me?" Jackson requested. He heard silence on the other end.

"Dr. Avery, I like Dr. Kepner. If you're messing around on her then I don't want to be a part of it." She told him snidely. Maybe that was the reason he liked her. She was incredibly blunt.

"Missy, I am not fooling around on Dr. Kepner. Thank you for helping me," he laughed and hung up. As soon as he separated what he knew she could help him with into different stacks her brought her out a few piles of files.

Soon after he left he took a cab to Wild Ginger and carefully drove his car to his mechanic and then took his loaner car to run the rest of his errands before going home. It was only three o'clock and he knew he had at least a couple of hours before April got home.

"Dr. Kepner, it's already seven o'clock. You've been here for ten hours. Go home," Dr. Hunt begged her, she didn't need to log in as many hours anymore. Plus he knew that she was trying to emotionally catch up from her long week a couple weeks ago.

"I know Dr. Hunt but I figured because I haven't been here lately and I could help," She told him, finishing a chart from an emergency appendectomy she recently finished.

"The ER is empty. We'll page you if there's an emergency. Go." Owen argued and she gave in.

April made her way to the locker room and changed into her street clothes and touched up the bit of makeup she had on. She stole a quick glance in the mirror and noticed that the usual bags under her eyes were gone and she didn't look half bad today. She noticed she was smiling without even thinking about it. Like she did on the other rare nights she left work after Jackson, she texted him that she was on her way home.

April pulled into the parking lot of their complex and noticed she still didn't have any response from Jackson and his car wasn't in the parking lot. Weird. When she called his office Missy told him she hadn't seen him all day, so she figured he had left.

When she opened the door to their living room and kitchen she saw Jackson in a room lit only by Candles. There must have been at least six dozen roses both red and cream colored. The room smelled like favorite her Sweet Pea Scentsy scent which always put her in a good mood.

"Jackson, what—what are you doing?" she asked him curiously, still not putting it together. He was wearing black slacks and a navy blue button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was cleanly shaven and he even cleaned the apartment.

She watched him think and carefully articulate his next words.

"April, Did you know that according to Greek mythology humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. But because Zeus feared their power, he split them into two separate beings. It condemned them into spending their lives in search of their other halves."

April smiled, still holding his hands, trying to figure out where exactly he was going with that. Her mind was rushing. She thought for a split second that he was planning to propose but then he went into talking about Greek mythology.

"Oh yeah, my point. My point is that I found my other half and I don't even want to be without you again. When I look at you I see my best friend, my lover, the mother of my children. Will you marry me April Kepner?"

She stared at him and she cried and then she laughed. He waited for what seemed like hours. "Yes! Yes! Jackson, yes!" She squealed and jumped up to hug him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

* * *

**Good ending?**


End file.
